Macalintal files motion for partial reconsideration of SC BSKE ruling

Make this your preferred source to get more updates from this publisher on Google.

Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal said that he filed a motion for partial reconsideration before the Supreme Court in relation to its ruling on the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).

Macalintal previously challenged the constitutionality of the newly signed Republic Act No. 12326, which extended the term of BSK officials, arguing it violated the people’s right to vote. However, the Supreme Court dismissed Macalintal’s petition, upholding the constitutionality of the law.

“The win-win solution respectfully submitted by the Petitioner is two-fold: first, to declare constitutional the power of Congress to extend the term of office of barangay and SK officials; and second, to declare unconstitutional—and/or violative of the 2023 Macalintal guidelines—the consequential postponement of the November 2026 BSKE,” Macalintal’s new petition read.

The Macalintal guidelines come from a 2023 decision from the Supreme Court that declared Republic Act No. 11935 — another law that postponed the BSKE — unconstitutional.

Macalintal said he conceded that Congress has the authority to enact legislation that extended the terms of BSKE officials; however, he asked the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision that the postponement is a mere “incident” of that power.

The petition asked the Supreme Court to direct the Commission on Elections “to conduct the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections on the earliest practicable date, with the five-year term of office under Section 1 of Republic Act No. 12326 to apply to the officials elected therein and the next regular elections to be held five years thereafter.”

In a separate statement, Macalintal said that the proposed solution harmonized the interests of all the parties confirmed.

“Public respondents—Congress, the Office of the President, and the Commission on Elections—are sustained in their stance that Congress possesses the constitutional authority to determine terms of office. On the other hand, the Filipino electorate will rejoice as their sacred right of suffrage is fully restored and vindicated,” Macalintal said. –NB, GMA News