HAVING the 2025 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) postponed would give the Commission on Elections (Comelec) a relief instead of having to hold two electoral exercises inside one year.
This was the admission of Comelec spokesman John Rex Laudiangco, saying the proposal to postpone the December 2025 BSKE to October 2026 would be favorable to the poll body.
"On the part of the Comelec, it would provide us a big relief if it will be postponed even for just a few months into 2026," said Laudiangco in a television interview.
He said such a postponement will mean the commission can concentrate on its preparations of the May 2025 national and local polls.
"As of now, while we are preparing for the May 2025 national and local polls, we are already doing the same for the BSKE," said Laudiangco.
He said the commission is nevertheless leaving the decision on the fate of the BSKE 2025 to the lawmakers.
"We acknowledge the power and mandate of Congress and the executive branch to pass a law that will postpone the BSKE to 2026 or to whichever date they will set," said Laudiangco.
Earlier, Camarines Sur Representative Luis Raymund Villafuerte filed a bill seeking to postpone the December 2025 BSKE to October 2026.
Villafuerte said moving the BSKE to a year later is necessary as the current village and youth officials will only serve for two years, instead of three, if the polls will push through next year.
The last BSKE was held last October 2023. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)