The Supreme Court (SC) did not issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) that would stop the postponement to November 2026 of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) originally set for Dec. 1 this year.

Instead, the SC asked Congress, the Office of the Executive Secretary, and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to comment on the plea for TRO and on the petition that sought to declare unconstitutional Republic Act No. 12232.

The directive was issued during the SC’s full court session on Tuesday, Aug. 19. It was not known immediately if the 10-day period is non-extendible.

The petition against the constitutionality of RA 12232 was filed last Friday, Aug. 15 by lawyer Romulo B. Macalintal who sought the issuance of a TRO or a status quo ante order.

RA 12232, signed by President Marcos last Aug. 13, extended the term of office of the incumbent Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials to four years and postponed the elections to the first Monday of November 2026.

The new law limits the term of barangay officials to three terms while only one term for incumbent Sangguniang Kabataan officials.

On top of his legal arguments, Macalintal told the SC that RA 12232 was not thoroughly studied or intelligently discussed before its passage.

He said the first Monday of November 2026, which is Nov. 2, 2026, “coincides with All Saints Day -- a widely celebrated religious holiday where a significant portion of the electorate traditionally returns to their respective provinces.”

He pointed out that “holding the BSKE on this date would highlight the law's flawed and arbitrary nature.”

On top of pleading for a TRO in his petition, Macalintal asked the SC to direct the Comelec to continue with the preparations for the Dec. 1, 2025 BSKE “should this Honorable Court rule that the said elections should take place as scheduled.”

At the same time, Macalintal asked that the incumbent BSK officials in holdover capacity after Dec. 1, 2025 should cease and desist from assuming their functions until further orders from the SC.

Finally, the SC was asked to declare RA 12232 “inoperative, invalid and/or unconstitutional… or to the extent that it pertains to the postponement of the elections of barangay officials on Dec. 1, 2025.”

Also in his petition, Macalintal told the SC that the Comelec had reported that “a record of 2.8 million people registered during the recently concluded 10-day registration period (Aug. 1-10, 2025); and that the Comelec will need P4 billion if the BSKE is postponed to 2026.”

He said that Congress has no power to postpone a scheduled election or extend the term of office of any elective officials.

Citing a ruling of the SC, he said that the High Court had declared that the postponement of an election is "a subtle but nonetheless self-serving proposition to lengthen governance without a mandate from the governed."

“Thus, the grave abuse of discretion committed by the Public Respondents is further aggravated by their decision to impose ‘appointed’ barangay leaders upon the people by allowing them to hold over for almost a year without a mandate from the electorate,” he stressed.