PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. confirmed on Friday, August 8, 2025, that he will sign the bill postponing the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections 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 barangay and SK elections 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 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.
Opposition
The National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) earlier expressed strong opposition to the postponement of the BSKE elections, saying that doing so would violate the public’s right to choose their community leaders.
"(We) strongly believe that democracy works best when elections are held regularly, on time, and fairly,” Namfrel added.
Veteran election lawyer Romulo Macalintal also opposed the proposed postponement, noting it falls on All Souls’ Day.
He said holding the polls during the widely observed November 1 and 2 holidays would be impractical.
"In a word, this bill suffers from the same constitutional and legal flaws as Republic Act No. 11935, which attempted to postpone the December 2022 BSKE but was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. (JGS/SunStar Philippines)