Pressure Mounts on Marcos to Block Barangay & SK Elections Delay
MARCOS – Legal experts are urging President Marcos to veto the bill that seeks to postpone the upcoming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.
Veteran election lawyer Romulo Macalintal has called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to veto the reconciled bill passed by both chambers of Congress that seeks to postpone the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) scheduled for December 1, 2025.
To uphold the people’s constitutional right to choose their leaders, Macalintal stressed that the President must not support the bill, which he claims mirrors the same legal and constitutional flaws as Republic Act No. 11935. That law had attempted to defer the December 2022 BSKE but was later ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court (SC).
“The President must avoid repeating the error of endorsing what the SC has already declared unconstitutional,” Macalintal said.
He argued that although the proposed measure is presented as an “Act Setting the Terms of Office for Barangay Officials,” its real intent is to delay the elections to the first Monday of November 2026. This would allow current officials to continue in a holdover capacity, thereby “effectively extending their tenure without a public mandate.”
Macalintal added that such postponement contradicts the democratic ideals enshrined in the 1987 Constitution. The President, Macalintal said, should heed the SC’s firm pronouncements that election postponement ‘could foster a government that is not democratic and republican as mandated by the Constitution.’
He also pointed out a technical violation in the bill, noting that the Constitution requires every legislative measure to address only one subject, clearly stated in its title. However, the reconciled bill covers at least three distinct matters: “setting a new term of office for BSKE officials, postponement of the December 2025 elections and authorization of holdover appointments of incumbents and extension of their tenure in office.”
According to the report, in light of these issues, Macalintal firmly urged the President to exercise his veto power to protect the integrity of the electoral process and to ensure that local officials remain accountable to the people through regular, timely elections.
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