President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. defended his move to approve the measure postponing the December 2022 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE), saying it was well within the power of Congress.
Marcos said this following petitions that challenged the constitutionality of the law that moved the polls from December 5, 2022, to October next year.
In a media interview, Marcos said they had sufficient precedent for postponing the village polls.
"Well, we have sufficient precedent for the postponement of Barangay and SK Elections. Nakailan na tayo (We've already had some)," he said.
"In my time lang (alone) in government, I have seen, I think, four, maybe five postponements," he added.
Responding to criticisms that the move was unconstitutional, President Marcos added that postponing the BSKE was within the powers of the Legislative Branch.
"In terms of the law, it is well within the powers of Congress to postpone those elections because that is not contained in the Constitution. It is contained in the Local Government Code," he said.
Marcos signed Republic Act No. 11935 on October 10. This rescheduled the BSKE to October 2023.
Under the new law, until their successors have been duly elected and qualified, all incumbent barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials shall remain in office unless sooner removed or suspended for cause.
In a tweet, Marcos explained that he approved the measure to ensure the delivery of services to the people at the barangay level.
Para sa walang patid na pagbibigay serbisyo publiko sa baranggay level lalo na ngayong panahong tayo ay nakabuwelo na, napapanahon ang hakbang na ito para sa kapakanan ng ating tuloy-tuloy na pagbangon.
— Bongbong Marcos (@bongbongmarcos) October 13, 2022
"Para sa walang patid na pagbibigay serbisyo publiko sa baranggay level lalo na ngayong panahong tayo ay nakabuwelo na (For the unhampered delivery of service at the barangay level, especially now that we have started to recover)," he wrote.
"Napapanahon ang hakbang na ito para sa kapakanan ng ating tuloy-tuloy na pagbangon (This measure is timely for our continuous recovery)," he added.