BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has signed a law postponing the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections from December 5 to October next year, Negros Occidental 4th District Rep. Juliet Marie Ferrer disclosed.
Ferrer was among the solons who filed a bill at the House of Representatives that pushed for the postponement of synchronized barangay and SK elections.
As stipulated under RA 11935, signed by President Marcos Jr., “There shall be synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, which shall be held on the last Monday of October 2023 and every three years thereafter.”
RA 11935 is a consolidation of House Bill No. 4673 and Senate Bill No. 1306, which was passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Philippines on September 28, 2022.
The term of office of the Barangay and SK officials will commence at noon of November 30 following their election.
“Until their successors shall have been duly elected and qualified, all incumbent Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials shall remain in office, unless sooner removed or suspended,” it added.
In a statement Commission on Elections chairman George Erwin Garcia said they will comply with the law postponing the BSKE.
Garcia said the Comelec will issue an updated calendar of activities regarding the postponed electoral exercises in “the soonest possible time.”
“We shall also revisit our existing and planned procurement contracts related to the BSKE and act accordingly with the best interest of all parties in mind,” he said.
He added that the one-year postponement will also allow them to resume voter registration “to ensure the larger participation of the citizenry.”* with reports from PNA
