Here we go again. That was what voters must have thought after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. signed Republic Act No. 12232, which postponed the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) from December 2025 to November 2026.
That same law also extends the term of elected barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) from the current three years (that is, before the numerous postponements to BSKEs in the past) to four years.
The law is now being challenged at the Supreme Court, with election lawyer Atty. Romulo Macalintal claiming that the law was enacted not for administrative convenience but simply for political convenience.
Macalintal was quoted by national newspapers as saying that RA 12232 was allegedly passed as a “quid pro quo,” fulfilling the promise made by legislators who ran in the past election to barangay officials to gain their patronage and assistance in the 2025 elections.
On the other hand, residents of barangays whom satire writer Bob Ong called “Sa Kanila Street” way back in 2000 (referring to streets where barangay captains have ruled “for a millennium”) grumble at the chance for change that was once again swept away from them.
This, despite provisions in RA 12232 that stipulate that barangay officials already serving their third consecutive term will be barred from seeking re-election in 2026.
Elections, in a healthy, vibrant democracy, is not just a right but an obligation. Voters enjoy the right, the privilege – and the responsibility – to choose their leaders.
But democracy in the Philippines, as we know, is far from being healthy and vibrant.
The most recent decision of our government officials to postpone the BSKE yet again reflects the sad fact that “traditional politics” remain deeply entrenched and has permeated all the way down to the supposedly nonpartisan barangay governance.
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