The Commission on Elections (Comelec) would prefer an automated Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Election (BSKE) on 2 November next year, its rescheduled date, but this would require P27 billion in funding, its chair said Monday.

The amount is P15.2 billion higher than the proposed budget allotted for the Comelec under the 2026 National Expenditure Program approved by the Department of Budget and Management.

Comelec Chair George Garcia told the House Committee on Appropriations that they originally proposed P19 billion for the BSKE, but this was slashed by P8 billion by the DBM, leaving the Comelec with P11.8 billion.

The amount is significantly lower than the P27 billion needed for an automated BSKE, which Garcia said would expedite the vote counting to just one hour, if not 30 minutes.

“You know, it’s better when it’s automated. The Comelec had been pushing for an automated election. In 2023, when we ran a pilot test in Quezon City and Dasmariñas, Cavite, within just one hour we already knew the winning chairman. Actually, it only took 30 minutes,” Garcia told lawmakers during the budget briefing.

In an interview in May following the midterm polls, Garcia emphasized the need to ditch manual vote counting and shift to an automated BSKE, saying that fast-tracking the poll process would help mitigate election-related violence, such as killings and ballot snatching.

The BSKE was supposed to be held on 1 December this year, but President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Republic Act 12232 on 13 August, moving the election to 2 November 2026.

The law also extended the term of office of barangay and SK officials from three to four years, with the former allowed to run for up to three consecutive terms, or 12 years.

SK officials, however, may serve only a single term.

Garcia told lawmakers that even with P11.8 billion, the Comelec will still have a budget deficit of P6 billion to P9 billion for the BSKE next year, saying the increase in newly registered voters would require additional precincts, teachers and electoral board members.

The P9 billion in additional funds would be used for the honoraria of P2,000 per teacher and extra support staff. Without the honoraria, Comelec would still require P6 billion in extra funds to cover election paraphernalia such as official ballots.

Newly registered voters for the BSKE are projected to hit four million by July next year, with 2.8 million already recorded from 1 to 10 August.