House OKs bill setting barangay, SK execs’ term to five years

MANILA, Philippines — A bill that proposes a fixed five-year term for barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials, with a maximum of two successive terms through reelection for the same position, has been approved by the House of Representatives.

During the session on Tuesday, House Bill (HB) No. 10971 was approved after 211 lawmakers voted in the affirmative, with only 13 voting in the negative and one abstention.

If enacted, HB No. 10971 will amend Section 1 of Republic Act No. 12232, changing the term of office of barangay officials from the current four years to five years.

Article continues after this advertisement

Furthermore, the bill effectively suspends the 2026 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE), as the measure states that the date of the next BSKE will be on the second Monday of November 2028, and every five years thereafter.

FEATURED STORIES

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

For current officials HB No. 10971 placed a transitory provision stating that incumbents should be considered as having completed due to the extension of their terms by two years.

READ: President signs into law bill suspending 2022 barangay, SK elections 

Meanwhile, incumbent officials who are in their consecutive term in the same position will be allowed to run for the same post in the November 2028 BKSE.

Kabataan party-list Rep. Renee Co, one of the lawmakers who voted against the bill, said that HB No. 10971 said that suspending the BSKE again is a violation of the 1987 Constitution.

Article continues after this advertisement

“This representation believes that we will be cheated again with this bill.  This is a clear violation of the Constitution and the decision of the Supreme Court in Macalintal v. Comelec. We push for the suspension of the BSKE from 2026 to 2028 and extending the term of sitting officials for two years without providing sufficient basis,” she said.

“The Court said that postponing the elections needs to have a ‘compelling governmental interest’ like protecting suffrage or a true emergency — not merely administrative convenience o seeking for ‘continuity.’  It has not been a year since we passed a law that extends the term of BSK officials to 4 years, we will extend their term again for another year?” she asked.

Article continues after this advertisement

This is not the first time that the House pushed for a measure extending the term of barangay and SK officials.  During the 19th Congress, former House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and other ranking lawmakers proposed setting a fixed term of six years for barangay and SK officials, to ensure continuity of projects and to shield them from politicking.

Romualdez was referring to HB No. 10747, or the proposed Act Setting the Term of Office of Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Officials to Six Years.

According to the Speaker, he and House lawmakers decided to set a fixed six-year term for barangay officials to do away with confusion brought by recent term extensions, poll suspensions, and other laws.

However, Romualdez’s bill does not allow officials to serve more than two successive terms in office.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has already suspended the 2022 BSKE, upon the prodding of lawmakers from the House and the Senate to use the funds for pandemic recovery instead.

READ: SC declares law postponing Brgy, SK polls unconstitutional 

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.

Your subscription has been successful.

However, the Supreme Court in June 2023 declared the law unconstitutional, ordering the BSKE to proceed last October 2023. /das