PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. confirmed on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, that he will sign the bill postponing the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) to allow the government to fully focus on the first-ever Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Barmm) parliamentary elections.
Speaking at the Kapihan with the Media in Bengaluru, India at the end of his five-day state visit, Marcos emphasized the significance of the Barmm polls, set for October, in advancing the region’s peace process.
The President said holding both the Barmm and the BSKE in December would overstretch the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and divert resources from ensuring the success of the landmark Barmm vote.
“Ang Comelec actually ang nagsasabi, ‘Hindi namin kaya.’ Dahil kailangan nating tutukan yung Barmm,” Marcos said.
(The Comelec itself is saying, ‘We cannot handle it.’ Because we need to focus on the Barmm.)
“You have to remember, the Barmm election that is upcoming in October is the first time we have ever had this kind of election at all. At all. Sa buong kasaysayan ng Pilipinas, hindi pa nagkaroon ng Barmm Parliament na hinalal ng tao. So, that is why it is so important,” he added.
(In the entire history of the Philippines, there has never been a Barmm Parliament elected by the people. So that is why it is so important.)
Marcos said a failed Barmm election would be a serious blow to the peace process in Mindanao.
“If that election fails, malaking bagay, malaking failure ‘yan dun sa peace process. Kaya’t kailangan na kailangan maging matagumpay ang pagganap ng halalan ng Barmm,” Marcos said.
(If that election fails, it would be a big setback, a big failure in the peace process. That’s why the Barmm polls must succeed.)
He added that the Supreme Court (SC) ruling on barangay officials’ term length was also considered in the decision.
“With a view on the Supreme Court decision that we cannot shorten the term of the barangay officials, we are actually lengthening the term of the barangay officials. So that’s not in conflict. So I think the most sensible and the most common sense solution is to postpone the Barangay and SK elections,” Marcos said.
The BSKE are held regularly to elect local village officials and youth councilors across the country’s 42,000-plus barangays, the smallest administrative units. The SK serves as a youth arm of the barangay government, allowing youth participation in local governance.
The 2025 BSKE were initially scheduled for Dec. 1. However, Congress ratified a bill that postpones these elections to November 2026 and extends the term of current officials, partly to avoid conflicting election schedules and to focus resources on the historic Barmm parliamentary elections. This bill also sets new term limits and lengthens the term for barangay and SK officials to four years. The postponement remains controversial, as it extends officials’ tenure without a new public mandate and raises concerns about electoral accountability.