Macalintal proposes ‘win-win’ solution to barangay, SK polls postponement
MANILA, Philippines – Election law expert Atty. Romulo Macalintal has filed a partial motion for reconsideration before the Supreme Court (SC) challenging key provisions of its recent ruling upholding Republic Act (RA) 12326.
RA 12326 extends the terms of office for barangay officials and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) members to five years and schedules the next barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections to November 2028.
In an electronic filing Tuesday evening, Macalintal introduced what he termed a “win-win solution” that seeks to compromise on the law’s scope without compromising the electorate’s constitutional rights.
In his motion, Macalintal no longer challenged Congress’s power to set or extend the terms of office of the barangay (village) officials.
Instead, his filing focuses strictly on invalidating the resulting postponement of the upcoming 2026 elections.
“The win-win solution I am offering is two-fold: first, to declare constitutional the power of Congress to extend the term of office of barangay and SK officials; and second, to declare unconstitutional and violative of the 2023 Macalintal guidelines the consequential postponement of the November 2026 BSKE,” Macalintal explained.
“This proposed resolution harmonizes the vital interests of all concerned. Public respondents—Congress, the Office of the President, and the Commission on Elections—are sustained in their stance that Congress possesses the constitutional authority to determine terms of office. On the other hand, the Filipino electorate will rejoice as their sacred right of suffrage is fully restored and vindicated,” he added.
Macalintal argued that the Majority Decision committed clear error by treating the cancellation of the November 2026 BSKE as a mere “incidental effect” of setting a new five-year term.
“Congress never delegated the power to choose who will govern a barangay. Congress cannot elect a punong barangay. It cannot reach the same result by statute, by declaring that the person the people chose for one period will also serve for another,” the motion reads.
The motion builds on arguments raised in the original proceedings—where the SC high court had affirmed the 5-year term for barangay and SK executives with elections set for November 2028—while drawing support from key dissenting opinions.
Citing concurring and dissenting opinions from Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen and Associate Justices Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa and Antonio Kho Jr., Macalintal outlined key legal arguments.
First, he said the postponement fails to offer any compelling or justifiable constitutional reasons required by law, noting that respondents cited routine administrative functions (such as flood management and crime suppression) or global events like Middle Eastern conflicts as grounds for deferral.
Second, he pointed out that term-fixing operates on the office itself, not on its present occupants.
Applying a 5-year term to officials elected in October 2023 for a 3-year period amounts to an unconstitutional legislative appointment without public consent.
Third, Section 2 of R.A. 12326, which cancelled the November 2026 election, constitutes a prohibited rider under Article VI, Section 26(1) of the Constitution because its title only promises to fix the term of office, not to defer an impending election.
Macalintal maintained that the invalid provisions (Sections 2, 5, and part of 7) are severable under the law’s separability clause.
He requested that the SC direct the Commission on Elections to schedule the barangay and SK elections on the earliest practicable date under Section 6 of the Omnibus Election Code.
Under his proposal, the newly elected officials from that special date would serve the five-year term under R.A. 12326, with the succeeding election held five years later.
Additionally, Macalintal formally moved to set the case for oral arguments to deliberate on whether Congress exceeded its constitutional bounds, violated established postponement guidelines, and passed an illegal legislative rider. /gsg
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