The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will now prepare for two polls in 2025; the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) and the May 2025 National and Local Elections after the Supreme Court (SC) declared unconstitutional the law postponing Dec. 5, 2022, BSKE.
In a public briefing, Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said that if BSKE will push through Oct.30, SC said that the next BSKE should be in December 2025 since the it was supposed to be conducted in December 2022.fter the Supreme Court (SC) declared unconstitutional the law postponing Dec. 5, 2022, BSKE
"Three years therefore, dapat po ay December 2025. Lumalabas po, halos dalawang taon lang ang iuupo po ng mga mananalo na Barangay and SK officials na mananalo po sa October 30 (Three years therefore, it should be on December 2025. It turns out that the winning Barangay and SK officials will only be in office for almost two years)," he explained.
"Sa part po ng Comelec, medyo mas mabigat po iyong aming gagawing paghahanda sapagkat papatak po na dalawa ang eleksiyon na gagawin ng Comelec sa 2025 (On the part of Comelec, the preparations will be harder since what will happen is we will be gearing up for two elections)," he added.
He stated that this must be planned carefully since the poll body is aiming to roll out new machines and a new system for the May 2025 polls. But due to this new development brought by the SC ruling, Garcia said that they might require additional budget and they also need to decide whether the December 2025 BSKE will be automated.
The SC recently declared unconstitutional the law postponing Dec. 5, 2022, BSKE. In its decision, SC declared unconstitutional Republic Act No. 11935, an Act Postponing the December 2022 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, which amended RA 9164, the law on Synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections.
However, Garcia said that there will be no changes in the poll body's preparations for the October 2023 BSKE. The SC affirmed the legal practicality and necessity of proceeding with the BSKE on Oct. 30, 2023.
For the BSKE in October, Comelec has already approved the pilot testing of the automated system in two barangays in Cavite which are Barangay Zone II Poblacion and Barangay Paliparan III in Dasmariñas City. The third barangay is Barangay Pasong Tamo in the sixth District of Quezon City.