SENATOR Imee Marcos said the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) will likely be postponed from October 2025 to a later date.
Speaking before barangay officials in Davao de Oro on March 8, 2025, Marcos explained that the delay is due to ongoing discussions on extending the term of barangay captains. She has proposed amending the Local Government Code to lengthen their tenure.
As chair of the Senate Committee on Electoral Reform, Marcos noted that barangay officials’ terms have been repeatedly extended, now reaching five years instead of the usual three. However, the Senate and House of Representatives have yet to agree on whether to set the term at four or six years.
“Ang sa mga kapitan hindi pa natapos kasi ang Senate, hanggang four years lang ang term. Ang version ng Congress, six years (For the barangay captains, it's not finalized yet because the Senate set the term at four years, while Congress proposed six years),” she said, adding that she favors the House’s proposal.
While lawmakers have yet to reconcile both versions, Marcos is certain that BSKE will not take place this year. She expects the matter to be settled when Congress reconvenes in June after the 2025 midterm elections.
“Ang klaro, wala nang eleksyon this year. Hindi na makahabol (There will be no elections this year. There’s no time left),” she told the barangay officials.
Marcos was among those who pushed for previous BSKE postponements, delaying the elections from 2019 to 2022 and again until they were finally held in 2023.
The Senate approved Senate Bill 2815 on January 14, 2025, proposing synchronized BSKE every six years starting May 2029. The measure also imposes a two-term limit for barangay officials and a one-term limit for SK officials.
It also includes a transitory provision allowing barangay and SK officials elected in October 2023 to remain in office until the May 2029 elections unless removed or suspended for cause.
Marcos also noted that the first parliamentary election in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Barmm) was moved to October 13, 2025.
She said there is no more time to prepare, specifically in the printing of official ballots for the conduct of the elections in the 42,000 villages in the country.
Additionally, it allows those elected in October 2023 to remain in office until the May 2029 elections unless removed or suspended.
Marcos also noted that the first parliamentary election in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has been rescheduled for October 13, 2025.
She emphasized that time constraints, particularly in printing official ballots for over 42,000 barangays, make it impossible to hold BSKE this year. RGL