Congress ratifies bicam report setting next brgy, SK polls to October 2023

The Senate and the House of Representatives on Wednesday ratified the bicameral conference committee report postponing the December 2022 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) to the last Monday of October 2023.

The bill is now up for President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s signature.

In the Senate, only Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III and Senators Risa Hontiveros and Pia Cayetano voted against the ratification of the measure.

Senator JV Ejercito, chairman of the Senate committee on local government, reported the reconciled version of the bill during the plenary session.

"After much deliberation, it was agreed upon by the members to hold the next synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections on the last Monday of October 2023. The subsequent Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections will then be conducted every three years thereafter," Ejercito said.

He said the bicameral conference committee considered the following in coming up with the decision to conduct the polls in October 2023:

• There is a precedence of holding the synchronized barangay and SK elections in October;
• The date usually falls on the school break of youth voters and will enable them to participate in choosing their leaders in the community;
• It will be more cost-effective with reference to the position paper and computation of the Commission on Elections which was submitted to the committee on electoral reforms.

The final version of the bill also provides that the term of office of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials elected under the proposed measure shall commence at noon of November 30, 2023 following their election.

In ending his report, Ejercito said the postponement of the BSKE "would give us ample amount of time to revisit our laws and introduce amendments to further strengthen the roles and mandate of our barangay officials."—AOL/VBL, GMA News