Comelec: BSK polls still on this October

But winners will have shorter terms

MANILA, Philippines — Despite the Supreme Court (SC) decision declaring unconstitutional Republic Act 11935 which postponed the holding of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE), an official of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said yesterday the polls would definitely push through on Oct. 30.

Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said the SC also ruled that the next BSKE should take place on the first Monday of December 2025.

“So it turns out that those who would be elected in October would only have a two-year term in office,” he said.

President Marcos signed RA 11935 into law in October last year, moving the BSKE from Dec. 5, 2022 to Oct. 30, 2023, supposedly to create savings amounting to billions of pesos.

Garcia also said the SC decision would not have any effect on their preparations for the BSKE.

“Nothing will change in our preparations. The SC ruling is more to address the departments of our government for future guidance,” he said.

The filing of certificates of candidacy for the BSKE will proceed as scheduled from Aug. 28 to Sept. 2, Garcia said.

The poll body will implement the gun ban from Aug. 28 to Nov. 29.

Garcia assured the public that the commission is 95 percent ready for the upcoming elections.

He said the remaining preparations include completing the printing of the ballots and retraining of teachers who would serve as members of the Electoral Boards.

Ruling lauded

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III yesterday welcomed the SC ruling.

In a statement, Pimentel said the high court decision validated his position that there was no compelling reason to delay the village polls.

He stressed the “importance of regular, periodic, fair, free, honest and accurate elections as essential components of an inclusive and functioning democracy.”

Pimentel agreed with the SC’s view, saying, “The postponement, without any compelling reason, undermined the constitutional rights of suffrage and weakens the foundation of our democratic institutions.”

He said postponing the local polls every now and then and using “election fatigue” as a reason only deprived other candidates from running against the incumbents, who stayed on in their posts with every delay.

“The ruling will effectively prevent the recurring practice of postponing the BSKE to the detriment of the Filipino people and our democratic processes,” Pimentel said.

Sen. Imee Marcos, who sponsored the now outlawed legislation in the Senate, said she welcomed the high court’s ruling, but maintained the need to postpone the BSKE.

She said barangay and SK officials have an “inadequate three year-term.”

Marcos stressed the need to extend their stint in office to six years, longer than the term of district and party-list representatives, mayors and governors.

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said the SC decision affirmed his and other legislators’ position that the postponement of the BSKE was unconstitutional.

“The questioned statute violates the Constitution,” Lagman said. “The electorate’s right of suffrage must be exercised in determinable intervals and regularly scheduled elections.”

He said RA 11935 also violates the constitutional ban on the transfer of funds.

“We agree with the SC that despite the unconstitutionality of the law due to legal practicality and necessity, the BSKE set on Oct. 30 must push through,” Lagman said.

PNP ready

Preparations to ensure the security for the BSKE are on track, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said yesterday.

Col. Jean Fajardo, spokesperson for the national police, said the PNP

and other government agencies are working to identify possible areas of concern in the upcoming polls.

“We will have an inventory and list of election related incidents,” she said.

Fajardo said they are also conducting a risk and threat assessment to determine which places should be classified as election areas of concern due to possible violent incidents.

The PNP will come up with a list to be submitted to the Comelec for validation.

Focused police and military operations are also ongoing to prevent potential private armed groups, which the PNP said numbered around 45, to carry out their activities during the elections.

Fajardo said PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. and officials from the Comelec and Armed Forces of the Philippines met with local officials to discuss issues related to the upcoming elections.

Acorda said he sees no reason to defer the BSKE in Negros Oriental amid calls of nine mayors and the Diocese of Dumaguete for its delay for one month.

The PNP and Comelec conducted a public consultation for the upcoming village polls in Dumaguete City on Tuesday.

Authorities are monitoring the situation in the province following the killing of governor Roel Degamo in March.

The Comelec also sees no reason to postpone the BSKE in Negros Oriental.

“Delaying the polls in the province might set a bad precedent,” Garcia said.  –  Sheila Crisostomo, Emmanuel Tupas, Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Gilbert Bayoran