Macalintal asks Marcos to veto 5-year term for barangay, SK officials

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Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal on Thursday asked President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to veto the measure seeking to "fix" the term of office of barangay officials and members of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) to five years.

In his letter, Macalintal said the measure "will inflict severe constitutional injury upon our democratic framework.”

He pointed out that it is a direct violation of the electorate’s right of suffrage, as “postponing elections and extending the terms of sitting officials through legislative fiat effectively supplants the sovereign will of the people.”

Macalintal added that Congress, during its hearings, has only invited barangay officials, who would naturally support the measure.

“Hence, this letter-petition includes our prayer for a personal audience with Your Excellency and your legal advisers to be heard on this matter,” he said.

The election lawyer also described as “flimsy” the reasons cited for extending the terms of office of barangay officials and Sangguniang Kabataan members, including an alleged “oil crisis,” foreign wars, and funding concerns.

He added that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has publicly and repeatedly expressed its readiness to conduct the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).

Macalintal further said the measure violates Article VI, Section 26 (1) of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, which states that “every bill passed by the Congress shall embrace only one subject which shall be expressed in the title thereof.”

“While deceptively titled as an act "fixing" the term of office, the body of the statute sweeps broadly to cancel ongoing electoral timeline, extent tenures, and impose hold-overs,” he said.

The lawyer pointed out that if the proposed measure aims to adjust future terms of office, any new term structure should apply to officials elected in the November 2, 2026 polls.

“That less restrictive path would have fulfilled term-setting goals without trampling upon the lectorate's fundamental right to choose their grassroots leaders,” Macalintal said.

GMA News Online has reached out to Malacañang and Comelec for comment on the matter.

On Monday, the Senate approved on third and final reading a bill seeking to "fix" the term of office of barangay officials and SK members to five years.

With 13 affirmative votes, five negative votes, and no abstentions, the upper chamber approved Senate Bill No. 2387 during its plenary session.

The measure seeks to amend Republic Act No. 12232 by fixing the current four-year term of barangay and SK officials to five years and moving the next BSKE from the first to the second Monday of November 2028.

It also provides that no elective barangay official shall serve for more than two consecutive terms in the same position, while no elective SK official shall serve for more than one term in the same position.

Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, the measure’s principal author and sponsor, said the five-year term would give barangay and SK officials more time to plan, implement, and evaluate programs before the next elections.

Earlier this month, the House of Representatives approved its version of the bill. —AOL, GMA News