Comelec turns attention to May 2028 polls after SC ruling on BSKE
MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) can now focus on preparations for the May 2028 national and local elections after the Supreme Court (SC) upheld the constitutionality of the law extending the terms of barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials to five years.
In a statement, the poll body welcomed the high court’s decision dismissing a petition filed by election lawyer Romulo Macalintal challenging Republic Act No. 12326.
READ: SC upholds law extending barangay, SK officials’ terms
Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia said the ruling had settled questions surrounding the legality of the law.“Although not unanimous, the SC decision is already a jurisprudence forming part of the law of the land,” Garcia said.
“Our deepest appreciation to the highest court for resolving promptly the controversy and clearing any doubt as to the legality of the law.”
Garcia had earlier described holding the national and local elections and the BSKE in the same year as “heavy” for the commission, given the preparations needed for both electoral exercises.
READ: 2026 BSKE preparations canceled following postponement law — Comelec
Term-fixing law, not postponement
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed RA 12326 on Sept. 24, moving the BSKE, originally scheduled for Nov. 2, 2026, to the second Monday of November 2028, or Nov. 13.
The law also extended the terms of barangay and SK officials from four to five years. It limits barangay officials to two consecutive terms in the same position and SK officials to one term.
Macalintal filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition before the Supreme Court on Sept. 27, arguing that the law effectively prolonged the terms of incumbent officials by postponing the elections without sufficient justification.
READ: New law on barangay, SK polls, terms under fire
But in the decision promulgated on Oct. 14 and made public on Friday, the high court ruled that RA 12326 primarily fixes the terms of barangay and SK officials rather than postponing elections.
The SC stressed that setting the next Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) in November 2028 merely implements the new five-year term. It said this does not make the law an election postponement measure simply because it affects the polling schedule.
It also ruled that the guidelines on election postponements established in its 2023 decision in an earlier Macalintal case do not apply to RA 12326.
The high court further maintained that the law does not violate the constitutional right to suffrage, noting that the right to vote does not require a specific election frequency or term length for barangay and SK officials.
Meanwhile, Comelec is set to resume nationwide voter registration on Nov. 10, with the application period running until July 30, 2027.
The poll body is targeting an additional three million registered voters during the nine-month registration period, bringing the country’s voter population from the current 71 million to around 74 million for the May 2028 elections. /jpv
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