President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has officially approved the postponement of this year’s barangay and sangguniang kabataan elections (BSKE) to give way to the historic first parliamentary polls in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Under Republic Act No. 12232, the BSKE originally set for Dec. 1, 2025, will instead be held on Nov. 2, 2026 — coinciding with All Souls’ Day. The law also resets future BSKEs to every four years and extends the term of barangay and SK officials from three to four years. Barangay leaders may still serve for up to three consecutive terms, while SK officials are now limited to just one.
Marcos defended the rescheduling, calling it “the most sensible and the most common-sense solution” to ensure that the BARMM elections, set for Oct. 13, run smoothly. He stressed that the vote to choose the region’s new parliament — replacing the interim Bangsamoro Transition Authority — is “so important” that its success is vital to the peace process. “We really need to have a successful BARMM elections, that’s why we really, really are focusing on that,” he said.
Not everyone welcomed the change. Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal had urged a veto, arguing the measure mirrored a 2022 law that the Supreme Court struck down for lacking sufficient justification to delay polls. The high court previously ruled that postponements must be supported by substantial reasons to protect the right to vote, rejecting cost-saving and “election fatigue” as valid grounds.
A copy of the signed law has been distributed to the media and will be published in the Official Gazette.
