A bill seeking to extend the terms of Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (BSK) officials advanced at the Senate committee level on Monday, despite the Commission on Elections (Comelec) having already spent P8 billion on election materials and other related expenses.

The P8 billion forms part of the P19.57 billion allocated to the Comelec for the BSK elections scheduled for 2November.

Poll watchdogs the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) and the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) opposed the proposed term-setting measure under Senate Bill No. 2387, saying it would effectively postpone the scheduled Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).

SB 2387, filed by Senate Committee on Local Government chairperson Francis “Chiz” Escudero, seeks to amend Republic Act No. 12232 by increasing the term of barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials from four to five years. The law currently sets the next BSKE on 2 November 2026, after the polls originally scheduled for December 2025 were moved under RA 12232.

Namfrel Secretary General Eric Jude Alvia told the committee that while the group supports longer terms for BSK officials, it has reservations about SB 2387 because its effect would be to defer the BSKE to November 2028.

“It grants incumbents a two-year holdover. This is the same constitutional infirmity found in Senate Bill 2067,” Alvia told senators.

SB 2067, filed by Senator Imee Marcos, explicitly seeks to postpone this year’s BSKE to October 2027 to save approximately P16 billion in public funds, which could be used to finance key programs for vulnerable sectors affected by the ongoing fuel crisis linked to the conflict in the Middle East.

Alvia said these reasons “do not meet the extraordinary threshold the Supreme Court already has set for deferring a constitutionally scheduled election.”

Earlier this month, more than 60 House lawmakers filed House Bill No. 10591, which seeks to move the 2 November 2026 BSKE to the last Monday of November 2028.

Alvia suggested separating the election postponement from the term-setting provision, allowing the BSKE to proceed as scheduled on 2 November while applying the proposed five-year term to the officials elected.

LENTE lawyer Ryan Jay Roset likewise said the latest proposals mirror previous election postponements carried out under the guise of “term-setting."

Roset warned that continued use of such a mechanism could set a precedent that would allow Congress to repeatedly postpone elections and infringe on the public’s right to choose its leaders.

Escudero maintained that SB 2387 is a term-setting measure, although he acknowledged that its natural effect would be to postpone the November 2 BSKE.

“My bill does not extend. My bill fixes,” Escudero said during Monday’s Senate committee hearing. He said setting a fixed five-year term would break the cycle of recurring congressional postponements and prevent local elections from overlapping with national polls.

The bill also seeks to give grassroots leaders more time to pursue community development, disaster response, and peace and order programs without disruptions caused by frequent elections.

Alvia, however, argued that extending the term does not guarantee more efficient or better delivery of basic services, which ultimately depends on the officials themselves.

SK majority favors five-year term

A National Youth Commission survey found that 78.9% of SK Provincial Federations favor a five-year term, while 21.1% prefer a four-year term.

Meanwhile, Comelec Chair George Garcia said there are currently 2,119 vacant SK positions nationwide.

Garcia said the Comelec is already prepared for the upcoming BSKE, with more than P7 billion worth of election materials already printed.

If Congress postpones the BSKE, Garcia said the printed materials would not go to waste because they could still be used in a subsequent election.

The typical election cycle costs between P11 billion and P12 billion, he said, significantly lower than the P19.57 billion budget allocated for this year’s BSKE.

Senate President Win Gatchalian, who previously chaired the Senate finance committee that oversaw the passage of the 2026 national budget, flagged the sharp increase, noting that the allocation nearly doubled compared with previous election budgets.

Garcia attributed the higher cost to the growing voter base, which has reached 71 million, requiring additional funding for teacher honoraria, ballots, precincts, electoral board members, and support staff.

Garcia also said he plans to seek congressional approval to use the remaining P10.94 billion of the P19.57 billion BSKE allocation for preparations for the 2028 presidential elections.

This came despite his previous admission that reallocating unspent BSKE funds for other purposes would be unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court, in its 2023 ruling on RA 11935, held that Congress has the power to legislate on barangay election dates but struck down the law for violating constitutional protections on suffrage and due process.

The Court also distinguished RA 12232 from previous postponement laws, ruling that RA 12232 is fundamentally a term-setting law.