Senate to decide on BSKE reset, 5-year term this week — Sherwin Gatchalian

The Senate will decide this week on proposed measures seeking to postpone the November 2026 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) and increase the term of office of barangay and SK officials from four to five years, Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said Sunday.

Speaking to Super Radyo dzBB, Gatchalian said the Senate would discuss the proposed BSKE reset and the fixing of officials' terms this week.

"We will discuss it this week. There should be a decision this week on whether the elections will push through because the filing of candidacies is at the end of the month," Gatchalian said in Filipino.

He said a decision must be made by the end of the week because the measures would still have to undergo a bicameral conference committee, ratification by both chambers, and publication.

Gatchalian said one advantage of postponing the BSKE and fixing the terms at five years would be the savings from eliminating the cost of one election cycle.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) had said it already spent P8 billion of its P19-billion budget for the BSKE.

Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said some election supplies, including indelible ink, could go unused if the BSKE is postponed.

The BSKE is scheduled for Nov. 2.

Meanwhile, Gatchalian said one disadvantage of extending the term to five years would be that the electorate would have to wait longer to replace an ineffective or frequently absent barangay captain.

According to Gatchalian, the Senate will go on a break on Oct. 8 or 9, so the proposed measures should be approved before then.

Senator Francis Escudero filed Senate Bill No. 2387, which seeks to amend Republic Act No. 12232, or the "Act Setting the Term of Office of Barangay Officials and Members of the Sangguniang Kabataan, and for Other Purposes."

Escudero said the proposed measure seeks to fix, rather than merely extend or postpone, the terms of barangay and SK officials from four to five years.

Meanwhile, Senator Imee Marcos filed Senate Bill No. 2067, which seeks to move the BSKE from November 2026 to October 2027, as the scheduled election date falls on All Souls' Day this year.

In August, a Senate panel approved the proposed measures.

However, the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) said the BSKE should proceed as scheduled, citing fiscal strain, the Middle East oil crisis, and travel costs.

The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) expressed the same view, saying preparations for the BSKE are already underway. — MCG, GMA News