BACOLOD CITY – Negros Occidental third district Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez has filed a bill seeking the postponement of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) from Nov. 2, 2026 to Nov. 2028.

Benitez personally filed on Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 4, House Bill 10591 postponing the  BSKE, setting the same to the last Monday of Nov. 2028, after garnering support from 63 lawmakers of the House of Representatives.

In a media interview after the filing of the bill, Benitez cited three reasons for pushing the BSKE postponement – energy crisis, calamity, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentary elections.

"This does not mean that the BSKE is cancelled," the lawmaker stressed.

Benitez highlighted that the Philippines is confronting an international energy emergency arising from continuing conflict and instability in the Middle East, which have disrupted petroleum supply and produced severe volatility in global and domestic fuel prices. Domestic prices reached as high as P172.90 per liter for diesel while gasoline exceeded P100 per liter.

He said that such volatility affects not only transportation but also electricity, freight, equipment deployment, rentals, food, accommodation, communications, and emergency support, which prevents the establishment of a reliable cost baseline for election procurement and nationwide logistics.

"The difficulty is neither conjectural nor confined to ordinary market fluctuation. It is a continuing public emergency requiring exceptional governmental action," he stated, adding that the connection to election administration is direct.

The operational difficulty is also compounded by earthquake damage to schools and other public infrastructure intended for use as voting centers, he said.

Benitez said that about 3.2 million students were affected by the earthquakes in Cebu, Davao Oriental, General Santos City, Sarangani, Davao Occidental, South Cotabato, and surrounding areas, requiring the inspection, temporary closure, repair, or reconstruction of schools, roads, electrical facilities, water systems, and communications infrastructure.

He said that public schools are indispensable to Philippine elections. "Where classrooms remain unsafe, inaccessible, occupied by rehabilitation work, or unavailable for public use, the corresponding voting centers cannot be presumed ready, adding that alternative sites must be identified, inspected, secured, equipped, and made accessible to voters, including senior citizens and Persons with Disabilities.”

Benitez said the proposed rescheduling of the BSKE, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and other participating government agencies will have greater capacity to prepare for and administer the first regular BARMM parliamentary elections on Sept. 14 that carries exceptional historical and institutional importance.

The elected Bangsamoro government is set to assume office on Oct. 30, with BSKE scheduled only about a month-and-a-half after the parliamentary election, with barangays throughout BARMM also required to participate, he said.

“Conducting these major elections in such close succession will place significant demands on Comelec personnel, teachers, security forces, local governments, and logistical support agencies.”

Thus, rescheduling the BSKE would help ease this administrative burden and allow the historic Bangsamoro election to receive the focused preparation, coordination, and institutional support necessary for its successful conduct, Benitez said.

"The electorate retains an effective opportunity to vote. The election is not cancelled, and the interval is not so remote as to defeat the constitutional requirement of regular and periodic elections. Neither does the bill grant incumbent officials a new term. Their electoral mandate is not renewed or enlarged.”

Benitez added that any continuation in office arises solely from the statutory holdover principle and lasts only until their successors are elected and qualified.

His father, Bacolod Rep. and Deputy Speaker Albee Benitez, expressed confidence that the BSKE will be held this year although it was not mentioned by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during his State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) last month.

Election preparations are underway unless Congress approves the postponement bill and signed into law.