Senate okays 5-year term for barangay, SK officials

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The Senate on Monday approved on third and final reading a bill seeking to "fix" the term of office of barangay officials and members of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) 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.

Voting against the measure were Senators Vicente Sotto III, Bam Aquino, Joel Villanueva, Francis Pangilinan, and Risa Hontiveros.

Sotto said he will file a "turno en contra" (vote against) explaining his opposition to the approval of the measure.

The measure seeks to amend Republic Act No. 12232 by extending the current four-year term of barangay and SK officials to five years.

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.

The bill also proposes moving the next regular Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) from the first to the second Monday of November 2028, with succeeding elections to be held every five years thereafter.

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.

“Barangays are planners, implementers, first responders, peacekeepers, and frontline service providers — all at a level where government interacts directly with households and families,” he said.

“With a five-year term, our officials will have more time to implement programs and projects that will truly benefit their communities,” he added.— MCG, GMA News