House OKs bill extending barangay, SK term from three to six years

The House of Representatives on Monday passed on third and final reading a measure that would double the term of office of barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials from three to six years.

With 173 affirmative votes, four negative, and one abstention, House Bill 11287 moved an inch closer to becoming a law. Its counterpart measure in the Senate was already approved in January, hence it will proceed to the bicameral conference committee, which shall harmonize the diverging provisions of the two measures.

The House’s version, if passed into law, will effectively move this year's Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) to the second Monday of May 2029, with the next polls to be held six years thereafter.

Under the measure, barangay officials could serve for two consecutive terms, while SK officials are limited to one.

The Senate’s version, on the contrary, sets terms of both barangay officials and SK members for four years, though they can be elected for three consecutive terms in the same position.

Under the Senate-approved bill, BSKE shall be held on the first Monday of October 2027, with the next held every four years thereafter.

Seasoned poll lawyer Romulo Macalintal had expressed strong disapproval of the bill, branding it "unconstitutional, deceptive, and misleading," and in violation of "the rights of voters to elect their own barangay officials."

The BSKE was postponed four times from 2016 until 2023, with the first three occurring under the Duterte administration.

Proponents of the bill believe that it’s high time to extend the terms of the local officials at the grassroots to allow them to fully implement their campaign plans, programs, and activities for their constituents.

Senate President Chiz Escudero earlier said that the consensus reached during the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council meeting last week, presided over by President Marcos Jr., was to proceed with BSKE in December this year, with the barangay officials’ term extending to four years.

House Speaker Martin Romualdez, one of the authors of the bill, is being urged to do the negotiations with the Senate, fulfilling his pledge to block this year’s BSKE, and proposed a six-year term for BSK officials.

But above all, he stressed that the government will have to spend another P8 billion for BSKE, on top of the billions of pesos already spent in the recently concluded mid-term elections.

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez warned that proceeding with the BSKE in December will not only leave the incumbent local officials short-term but will also hurt government resources.

He argued that the government will have to spend another P8 billion for BSKE, on top of the billions of pesos already spent in the recently concluded mid-term elections.

The BSKE was postponed four times from 2016 until 2023, with the first three occurring under the Duterte administration. Proponents believe that extending the tenure of barangay officials will deter the recurrence of this practice in the future.