The House Committee on Local Government approved in principle on Tuesday, Aug. 25 the measures that sought to extend the terms of office of barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials to five years.

Committee Chairman Aklan 2nd district Rep. Florencio Miraflores said House Bill (HB) Nos. 1125, 10656, 10713, 10714, and 10924 will be consolidated into an unnumbered substitute bill to reflect the points agreed upon during Tuesday's hearing.

This includes holding of the next Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) on the second Monday of November 2028 and the applicable term limit provisions.

In a statement, Miraflores said the proposed longer term for village and youth officials could provide greater continuity and stability in local governance, allowing officials more time to implement programs and deliver results.

“Our task, therefore, is to find the right balance and establish a term that will ultimately strengthen, rather than weaken, grassroots governance," he emphasized.

Sorsogon lone district Rep. Marie Bernadette Escudero, author of HB No. 10656, said the proposed five-year term would align the tenure of barangay officials with the five-year comprehensive development plan. This would give them sufficient time to translate plans into programs and implement them.

“This is particularly important for barangays with very limited resources, where the time and capacity to implement development programs can be a significant challenge,” she said.

Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas (LnB) National President Maria Katrina Jessica Dy explained that more than 70 percent of barangays operate on annual budgets of P5 million or less. This limits them to shorter-term programs that can be supported by their available funds.

She said a longer term for barangay officials would give them more time to develop and implement higher-impact, longer-term programs that can produce more measurable results.

Dy also emphasized the crucial role of barangays as the first point of contact between the government and the public, particularly during calamities and emergencies, making stability in barangay governance essential.

For their part, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it was fully prepared to conduct the scheduled manual BSKE on Nov. 2, 2026.

Comelec Deputy Executive Director for Operations Rafael Olaño assured the panel that preparations for the elections were already well underway.

“Sa katunayan po ready na, meron na tayong final list of voters, nakapag-print na rin tayo ng mga balota, nakapag-procure na rin po tayo ng mga ballot boxes, mga forms and other supplies na gagamitin,” he said.

(In fact, we are ready, we already have the final list of voters, we have also printed the ballots, and we have procured the ballot boxes, forms, and other supplies to be used.)

However, Olaño acknowledged that the elections could still be postponed should Congress pass a law extending the term of incumbent barangay and SK officials. He affirmed that Comelec would respect and implement any changes in the election schedule that Congress may set.

Olaño also assured that postponing the Nov. 2 elections would not result in the wastage of election materials already procured by Comelec. He explained that the ballots printed for the Nov. 2, 2026 elections could still be used in the succeeding BSKE.

He added that Comelec would issue a resolution allowing the previously printed ballots bearing the Nov. 2, 2026 election date to be used for the next BSKE.