Barangay leaders defend BSKE reset before Supreme Court

The Liga ng mga Barangay ng Pilipinas, a national association of village officials, filed a petition-in-intervention before the Supreme Court on Friday to defend the constitutionality of the new law resetting the date of the next Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).

Electronically filed on 22 August 2025, the petition was submitted in response to a legal challenge by election lawyer Romulo Macalintal, who is asking the Court to nullify Republic Act No. 12232, calling it unconstitutional.

The law, titled “An Act Setting the Term of Office of Barangay Officials and Members of the Sangguniang Kabataan, and for Other Purposes,” moves the next BSKE from 1 December 2025 to 2 November 2026.

Represented by former Justice Secretary Alberto Agra, the Liga — which speaks for 42,011 barangays nationwide — argued that the law is a constitutional exercise of congressional power. They said it does not “postpone” the elections but instead “fixes a new term of office” and “redefines the electoral cycle.”

Macalintal’s petition, docketed as G.R. No. E-02002, asserts that the law “smacks of deception,” retroactively extends terms of incumbent officials, lacks a legitimate objective, and violates the constitutional “one subject-one title” rule.

The Liga countered by stressing several points:

• The law is presumed constitutional, and no clear constitutional breach has been shown.

• RA 12232 sets a new term of office, and the rescheduling of elections is a “consequence/result” of this, not a postponement that requires calamity or violence as justification.

• Congress has plenary power to fix the term of barangay and SK officials, which has historically varied between three, five, and six years.

• The hold-over provision for incumbents is prospective, ensuring governance continuity.

• No equal protection violation exists, as barangay and SK officials are in similar circumstances and both work for the same constituency.

The Liga also said Macalintal’s petition is “premature” because the law had not yet been published as of 15 August 2025, and therefore had not taken effect.

Macalintal further argued that the 2 November 2026 election date coincides with All Souls’ Day, which he cited as evidence of the law’s “flawed and arbitrary nature.” He has asked the Court to issue a Temporary Restraining Order to halt the law’s implementation and direct the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to proceed with preparations for the 1 December 2025 polls.