PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has signed into law Republic Act (RA) No. 12232, which postpones the December 2025 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).
Under the measure, the BSKE will instead be held on the first Monday of November 2026, while the subsequent regular BSKE will be held every four years thereafter.
The term of office of those who will be elected in November 2026 shall commence on December 1 of the said year.
RA 12232 also provides that the fixed term of office of all elected barangay and SK officials shall be four years instead of the previous three years.
However, incumbent barangay officials on their third consecutive term cannot run for the same position in the November 2026 BSKE.
The newly signed law also mandates that no elective barangay official shall serve for more than three consecutive terms in the same position and that voluntary renunciation of office does not interrupt an elective official’s full term of service.
It also states that incumbent barangay and SK officials will remain in office until their successors are elected and qualified, unless removed or suspended for cause.
Marcos earlier said he opted to approve the measure into law to allow the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to fully focus on the first-ever Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Barmm) parliamentary elections scheduled in October. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)