Supreme Court upholds law extending terms of barangay, SK officials

HIGHEST COURT. File photo of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

Mark Z. Saludes

The same law also schedules the next barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections for November 2028

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC), in a decision made public on Friday, November 6, upheld the constitutionality of Republic Act No. 12326 or the law that set the terms of barangay officials and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) members at five years.

The same law also scheduled the next barangay and SK elections for November 2028.

Newly installed SC Chief Justice Rodil Zalameda, who previously served as associate justice, penned the ruling. It dismissed the petition filed by election lawyer Romulo Macalintal, which questioned the law’s constitutionality.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed RA No. 12326 last September 25. Apart from postponing the polls, the law also set the barangay and SK elections every five years after November 2028. It also limited the terms of barangay officials to two consecutive terms, while SK officials are limited to a single term.

In his petition, Macalintal said the law failed the requirements set in the ruling Macalintal v. Comelec in 2023, which allowed postponement of polls but only under certain circumstances, such as important, substantial, or compelling reasons.

But in the recent ruling, the SC explained that RA No. 12326 is a law that fixes the term of officials, not to postpone an election. It argued that just because a law fixes the term of officials does not mean it’s an election postponement law.

“The SC explained that the law’s main purpose is to increase the term of barangay officials from four years, as set by RA 12232 in 2025, to five years. It also reduces the maximum number of consecutive terms they may serve from three to two. Setting the next BSKE in November 2028 merely implements the new five-year term,” the ruling said. – Rappler.com