(PNA)

Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte wants to move the conduct of the next Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) from Dec. 1, 2025 to Oct. 26, 2026, and then every three years thereafter.

In a statement on Tuesday, May 7, Villafuerte stressed the need to maintain the fixed three-year terms of the local officials in compliance with the provisions of both the 1987 Constitution and the Local Government Code (LGC) of 1991.

“The election of an official is not only a political contract between the elected leader and the electorate, it is also a legal and social one. It is a sacred contract that is time-bound,” he said.

Under his House Bill (HB) No. 10344, Villafuerte noted that holding the next BSKE on Dec. 1, 2025 would means a shorter term for the incumbents. 

With the most recent elections held only last October 2023, incumbent officials will only be able to serve two years.

He said the set polling date “diminishes the obligations of the incumbent BSK officials to serve their constituents, and lessens their accountabilities in the exercise of the power vested in them by the people's free choice”.

“Thus, this proposed amendment on setting the next BSKE in 2026 and then every three years thereafter gives the sufficiency of time for barangay and SK officials to fulfill their promises and obligations,” the lawmaker added.

Villafuerte, president of the National Unity Party (NUP), clarified that his measure does not attempt to extend the term of office of the incumbent officials.

Aside from postponing the BSKE, HB No.10344 also seeks to set the term of office of the winning officials to commence at noon of November 30 following their election. 
 
Until their successors shall have been duly elected and qualified, the bill provides that “all incumbent barangay and SK officials shall remain in office, unless sooner removed or suspended for cause".
 
However, barangay and SK officials who are ex officio members of either the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP), Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) or Sangguniang Bayan, as the case may be, shall “continue to serve as such members in the Sanggunian concerned until the next BSKE, unless removed in accordance with their existing rules or for cause,” according to HB No. 10344.
 
“The right of suffrage is not only the actual exercise of the power to choose leaders through actual voting by the electorate, it further extends to the expectations of these chosen leaders to serve and fulfill their promises and platforms of government within the term provided by the law, which is three years,” Villafuerte said.
 
“In turn, because of the trust given by the electorate, the incumbent elected BSK officials shall serve and perform for three years,” he stressed.
 
During last year’s BSKE, 42,001 positions for barangay and SK chairpersons were filled up along with 294,007 posts for SB and SK members.