BSKE delay: Macalintal cites public outrage in bid to flip SC decision
MANILA, Philippines — Warning that upholding the law postponing the November 2026 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) is an intentional infringement on the electorate’s constitutional right to vote, veteran election lawyer Atty. Romulo Macalintal will be asking the Supreme Court (SC) to reconsider its ruling.
The law declared constitutional in a ruling released Friday is Republic Act No. (RA) 12326, extending the terms of office for barangay officials and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) members to five years and scheduling the next Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) for November 2028.
READ: SC affirms 5-year term for barangay, SK execs; next polls in Nov. 2028
The SC, through newly appointed Chief Justice Rodil Zalameda said Congress has the say regarding fixing the terms of barangay officials. Moving the election date to November 2028 merely implements the new five-year cycle.
“A law fixing the terms of office does not become an election postponement law simply because it affects the election schedule,” the SC stated, noting that the period between elections remains reasonable and serves as a safeguard against endless resettings.
READ: SC upholds law extending barangay, SK officials’ terms
‘Dangerous precedent’
In a statement Monday, Macalintal said if left uncorrected, the high court’s 9–5–1 ruling sets a dangerous precedent that could open the door for Congress to postpone higher national elections, including the 2028 presidential race.
“If this ruling remains uncorrected, and if no one stands up to warn of its dangerous consequences to our democratic system, RA 12326 will not stop at the barangay level,” Macalintal stated. He cautioned that lawmakers could invoke the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law” under Article VII of the Constitution to tamper with the May 2028 presidential elections.
His stance aligns with dissenting opinions from members of the bench. Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa described RA 12326 as “a legislative maneuver that unduly curtails the people’s right of suffrage,” warning that the ruling causes the tribunal to be “seen to be unwarrantedly bending its knees to the powers that be.”
Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen—joined in dissent by Justices Ramon Paul L. Hernando and Ricardo R. Rosario—similarly highlighted the risks of setting such a precedent: “If every extension of an incumbent’s tenure may be justified automatically as an incident of Congress’s term-setting authority, nothing would prevent Congress from repeatedly extending such tenure through successive term-setting legislation, delaying the electorate’s opportunity to choose their representatives.”
Justices Caguioa and Antonio T. Kho, Jr. also filed separate dissenting opinions against the decision.
Despite the initial setback, Macalintal signaled optimism about flipping the outcome upon review.
Shift
He said, with five justices dissenting, five votes are already in favor of the petition. Macalintal pointed out that Associate Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh was on leave during the initial vote. Citing Justice Singh’s past position that postponing elections without justifiable cause directly infringes on voting rights, Macalintal projects that convincing two members of the majority could shift the final tally to an 8–7 reversal.
On his Motion for Reconsideration, Macalintal will reiterate his request for the Supreme Court En Banc to conduct oral arguments. During these proceedings, he intends to challenge the majority’s characterization of the BSKE postponement as “incidental,” arguing instead that the delay was a deliberate legislative effort to deprive citizens of their right to choose local leaders.
Macalintal also highlighted widespread public opposition to the Supreme Court decision, citing online engagement metrics following the ruling’s release.
He said comments on the Supreme Court’s official Facebook page (SupremeCourtPH) showed 95 percent to 98 percent of respondents expressing outrage and disappointment.
The election lawyer also pointed to his own social media posts regarding the case, which reached over 2.6 million views and generated more than 165,000 engagements within a 28-day period.
“Looking at those numbers and reading your messages, the message is clear: I am not alone in this fight,” Macalintal said, reaffirming his commitment to pursue all legal avenues to uphold the electorate’s sovereign will. /cb
The post BSKE delay: Macalintal cites public outrage in bid to flip SC decision appeared first on Inquirer.net.