SC affirms 5-year term for barangay, SK execs; next polls in Nov. 2028

MANILA, Philippines–The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the constitutionality of Republic Act No. (RA) 12326, affirming the extension of terms of office for barangay officials and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) members to five years and scheduling the next Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) for November 2028.

In a decision written by now Chief Justice Rodil V. Zalameda, the SC dismissed the petition filed by election lawyer Romulo B. Macalintal, who challenged the law’s validity.

Enacted on September 24, 2026, RA 12326 increased the term length of barangay leaders from four to five years—revising the previous law, RA 12232, passed in 2025—while capping their maximum consecutive terms at two instead of three. It also set the next BSKE for November 2028.

Article continues after this advertisement

In his petition, Macalintal said the law violated substantive due process, infringed on the constitutional right to vote, and failed to meet the strict guidelines laid down in the benchmark 2023 ruling Macalintal v. COMELEC, which requires “important, substantial, or compelling reasons” to postpone elections.

FEATURED STORIES

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

READ: Barangay youth polls reset questioned in SC

Rejecting Macalintal’s arguments, the SC said the 2023 SC ruling is not applicable because RA 12326 is fundamentally a term-fixing law rather than an election postponement measure.

RA 12326 is a term-fixing law enacted under Congress’s constitutional authority to adjust and establish the length of office for barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials to five years, with the shift of the next election to November 2028 serving merely as an incidental implementation of that new five-year cycle. By contrast, the 2023 ruling in Macalintal v. COMELEC specifically addressed an election postponement law (RA 11935), establishing strict guidelines requiring election postponements to be justified by “important, substantial, or compelling reasons” to prevent arbitrary delays in exercising the right to vote. 

It added that Congress has the say regarding fixing the terms of barangay officials. Moving the election date to November 2028 merely implements the new five-year cycle.

“A law fixing the terms of office does not become an election postponement law simply because it affects the election schedule,” the SC stated, noting that the period between elections remains reasonable and serves as a safeguard against endless resettings. /mr