Barangay, youth execs’ terms extended to 5 yrs

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed a law moving the next Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) to November 2028 and extending the term of incumbent officials from four to five years.

The extension gives them a longer term of office than other local officials, including mayors, governors and congressmen.

 In a social media post on Friday, the president announced that he signed on Thursday Republic Act No. 12326 fixing the new term limits and setting the elections on Nov. 13, 2028.

The government has already spent P8 billion on equipment and other preparations for the polls that were scheduled on Nov. 2.

READ: 2026 BSKE preparations canceled following postponement law — Comelec

While the new law extends the term of office to five years from four for barangay officials, it limits them to two terms instead of three.

 SK officials, meanwhile, are limited to one five-year term.

This means that barangay officials can serve for up to 10 years, giving them a longer term of office than congressmen and mayors who get a maximum nine years if elected for three consecutive terms.

This is the third time that Marcos has signed a law amending the BSKE law, including RA 11935 in October 2022 that was later struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional.

Lawyer Romulo Macalintal, one of the petitioners against RA 11935, said he also plans to question RA 12326 before the Supreme Court.

Marcos said he expects incumbent officials to maximize the additional two years to improve their performance.

“With the signing of Republic Act No. 12326 […] our expectations for our current officials are clear.

 Use this time to further improve public service, complete programs that have already been started, and focus more closely on the needs of every community, family, and young person,” Marcos said.

“This is not additional time in office. It is additional time for accountability to the people,” he added.

 Based on a copy of the law posted on The Official Gazette, incumbent barangay officials are considered to have completed one term in their respective positions, given the two-year extension of their terms.

 The law signed on Thursday also states that “[i]ncumbent officials serving their last term in the same position […] shall be ineligible to run for the same position in the November 2028” polls.

 It mandates that vacancies in the SK be filled by appointment by the city or municipal mayor, while vacancies in the SK chair positions be filled through succession as provided by law.

 In a statement, Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero thanked Marcos for signing the law, which he said would provide certainty and stability in governance given that barangays serve as the government’s front line in delivering public services.

 Escudero authored Senate Bill No. 2387, filed on Aug. 6.

The measure was adopted by the House of Representatives and sponsored by 60 lawmakers, including Deputy Speakers Janette Garin, Paolo Ortega and Jefferson Khonghun.

“As the principal author of the proposed measure in the Senate, it is clear to us that the purpose of this law is to improve the system and ensure a clear and orderly cycle of governance at the barangay level.

When terms of office are properly structured, the delivery of public services also becomes more effective,” Escudero said.

‘I’ll-advised’

Macalintal has criticized the enactment of the law, calling it “rapid” and saying Marcos was “ill-advised” into signing it.

READ: Macalintal says to bring BSKE postponement to SC

“The administration failed to realize — or conveniently ignored — the compounding effect of this measure: a massive three-year total postponement of BSKE and a corresponding three-year unauthorized term extension for incumbent officials,” he said in a statement.

Macalintal said this “stripped” millions of Filipino voters of their fundamental right of suffrage, “governed instead by local officials effectively thrust upon us through legislative appointment rather than the ballot.”

The last BSKE were held on Oct. 30, 2023, with 672,016 seats filled: 42,001 seats for punong barangay, 294,007 seats for barangay kagawad, 42,001 seats for SK chair and  294,007 seats for SK kagawad.

Under the Local Government Code of 1991, barangay officials are compensated through an honoraria, with the minimum set at P1,000 per month for the chair and P600 per month for Sangguniang barangay members.

In 1996, Executive Order No. 332 included the barangay in the unified position classification and compensation system of the government.

 This allowed the adjustment of the honorarium to a maximum rate equivalent to the first step of Salary Grade 14 (P32,321) for chair and Salary Grade 10 (P22,190) for Sanggunian members.

However, the implementation of the authorized increase is subject to the availability of barangay funds.

Aside from honoraria, barangay officials are also entitled to other benefits, such as a Christmas bonus in the form of cash gift at the rate authorized by law; insurance coverage; medical care consisting of free hospitalization in government hospitals; and tuition coverage that can be extended to two of their legitimate dependent children during their term of office.

There were two other BSKE laws before RA 12326. On Oct. 10, 2022, Marcos signed RA 11935, which reset the BSKE from Dec. 5, 2022 to Oct. 30,  2023.

The Supreme Court declared it as unconstitutional in June 2023.  On Aug. 13, 2025, he signed RA 12232, which, again, reset the BSKE from Dec. 1, 2025, to Nov. 2, 2026. RA 12232 extended the terms of barangay and SK officials from three years to four years.

 It also allowed barangay officials to still serve for three consecutive terms or up to 12 years in the same position, while SK officials’ terms were reduced to a maximum of one. — WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH /das

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