President Marcos has declared Oct. 30, 2023, Monday, a special non-working day across the country to allow the people to vote in the much-awaited Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin signed Proclamation No. 359 on Oct. 9, 2023, signaling that the BSKE will finally proceed after being postponed twice since 2020.

In his proclamation, Marcos said there was a need to declare Oct. 30 a holiday to allow the people to vote for their favored barangay and SK officials.

"It is imperative that the people be given the full opportunity to participate in the said elections and exercise their right to suffrage," he said.

The elections were initially scheduled for May 2020, but a law was passed in December 2019, postponing the polls to December 2022. However, Marcos signed the Republic Act (RA) No. 11935 in October 2022, moving the elections to October 2023.

In a tweet, Marcos explained that he approved the measure to ensure the delivery of services to the people at the barangay level.

He later explained that 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.

Two-year term

Officials elected in the 2023 BSKE will enjoy a two-year term after the Supreme Court declared Marcos' RA 11935 unconstitutional in July 2023.

The High Court, however, ordered the October 2023 polls to proceed anyway. Because of this, RA 11462 is revived, which limits the term of elected BSK officials to Dec. 31, 2022.

By then, all existing barangay and SK officers are deemed to be in a "hold-over" capacity until the next BSKE in December 2025.

To avoid confusion, the Supreme Court said that the next BSKE will be held on the first Monday of December 2025 and every three years after that date.