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Lacson to Comelec: Constitutional path exists to direct BSKE funds for crisis response
Lacson to Comelec: Constitutional path exists to direct BSKE funds for crisis response
At A Glance
- Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo "Ping" Lacson assured on Monday, April 13 that a constitutional path exists to direct the budget for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) to agencies outside the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and use it to respond to the current national energy crisis.
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson assured on Monday, April 13 that a constitutional path exists to direct the budget for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) to agencies outside the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and use it to respond to the current national energy crisis.
Lacson said that while realigning the Comelec’s budget for the BSKE outside of the agency may be unconstitutional, there can be a way out of the situation in order to help the nation address the fuel crisis stemming from the Middle East conflict.
“What the Chairman says is true. Funds allocated to the Comelec cannot be realigned to items outside it because that would be unconstitutional,” Lacson said.
“But the allocations can still be treated as savings - Comelec may opt not to spend the funds for the BSKE and declare them as savings to be returned to the Treasury,” the senator explained.
Earlier, Comelec Chairman George Garcia expressed concern over proposals to postpone the BSKE and use some P16-billion in unspent funds allocated to it to address the fuel crisis.
In an interview on Radio DZBB on Monday, the Comelec chief said that out of the P19-billion allocated for the BSKE under the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA), P3-billion had already been spent for the preparations.
Garcia pointed out that while Congress has the power to postpone the BSKE anew, the Constitution bars the realignment of funds outside the Comelec.
But after being informed of Lacson's response, Garcia voiced his agreement, saying the poll body can indeed return unspent funds as savings.
“As a constitutional body, we can return unspent funds as savings. That could be a strategy for Congress to consider - rather than transferring the funds, the elections may not proceed and the allocated budget would not be spent,” Garcia said in Filipino during the interview.
"At the same time, if the funds are not used, they become savings and can be returned to the Treasury, and be made available for other purposes,” he added.
Originally scheduled for Dec. 1, 2025, the BSKE had been moved to November 2 of this year.
However, some lawmakers are now pushing for another postponement of the BSKE due to the ongoing fuel crisis.