OSG asks SC to junk petition vs. BSKE postponement

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The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to dismiss a petition challenging the postponement of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) and deny the petitioner's request for preliminary injunctive relief.

In a 64-page comment, the OSG argued that the petition should be dismissed outright for violating the hierarchy of courts.

“The Honorable Court is not a trier of facts. It is a court of last resort and must remain to be so in order for it to satisfactorily perform the functions assigned to it by the fundamental charter and immemorial tradition,” the OSG said.

“...The doctrine of hierarchy of courts demands parties to seek recourse first from lower courts sharing concurrent jurisdiction with a higher court,” it added.

Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal earlier filed a petition seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the postponement of the BSKE, which had been scheduled for November 2026.

Macalintal's challenge does not necessarily question Congress' authority to set the terms of barangay and SK officials. Rather, he argues that Congress cannot use that authority to effectively extend the tenure of incumbents and deprive voters of a scheduled opportunity to elect new officials.

The BSKE has been repeatedly postponed over the past decade. The October 2016 polls were moved to October 2017, while the October 2017 elections were subsequently reset to May 2018.

The May 2020 elections were later postponed to December 2022, but were again moved to October 2023.

In 2025, Congress postponed the December 2025 BSKE to November 2026. The latest law, Republic Act No. 12326, has now moved the 2026 elections to November 2028.

Acting on the Macalintal petition, the High Court has ordered the respondents—the Office of the President, Congress and the Commission on Elections—to submit their comment. They responded through the OSG.

In its comment, the OSG also maintained that Republic Act No. 12326, or the law fixing the terms of barangay and SK officials at five years, is a valid term-fixing law.

It added that Macalintal is not entitled to a TRO or a status quo ante order, saying his allegations failed to establish the necessity of interim relief.

“In the present case, petitioner carries an even heavier burden in proving his entitlement to these injunctive reliefs because he seeks to invalidate a law. As a duly enacted statute, RA 12326 carries the presumption of validity,” the OSG said.

In September, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed RA 12326, postponing the BSKE and moving the next regular elections to the second Monday of November 2028, with succeeding elections to be held every five years thereafter.

The new law also sets the term of office of elected barangay and SK officials at five years. It limits barangay officials to two consecutive terms and SK officials to a single term in the same position. — MCG, GMA News

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