Supreme Court asked to order Comelec to hold barangay and SK elections

Senior citizens cast their ballots during the early voting period of the 2025 midterm elections at the New Capitol Estates – 1 basketball court in Barangay Batasan Hills, Quezon City on May 12, 2025.  Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File 

MANILA — Veteran election lawyer Romulo Macalintal asked the Supreme Court to order the Commission on Elections to conduct the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) on the “earliest practicable date.”

In his motion for partial reconsideration filed Tuesday, Macalintal offered a “win-win” solution to the hight court by declaring constitutional the power of Congress to extend the term of office of barangay and SK officials and at the same time declare unconstitutional the consequential postponement of the November 2026 elections. 

Macalintal filed his appeal following the decision of the high court last week affirming the constitutionality of Republic Act No. 12326 which extended the terms of barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials to five years.

“On the one hand, public respondents—Congress, the Office of the President, and the Commission on Elections—are sustained in their assertion that Congress possesses the constitutional authority to determine and set the terms of office of barangay officials,” Macalintal said. 

“On the other hand, the Filipino electorate will rejoice as their sacred and inviolable right of suffrage is fully restored and vindicated,” he added. 

He argued that RA No. 12326 violates the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in Macalintal vs. Comelec. 

He said the majority committed a clear error by ruling that these guidelines do not apply to Republic Act No. 12326 simply because it is framed as a term-setting measure with an incidental election postponement. 

Macalintal added that the use of the mandatory term “shall” in the guidelines and the definitive word “any” admits no exception.