SC consolidates petitions vs. BSKE postponement

The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday announced that it has ordered the consolidation of three petitions filed against the postponement of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).

The petitions were filed by election lawyer Romulo Macalintal, John Barry Tayam, and Mystro Yushi Fujii. They challenged the constitutionality of Republic Act (RA) 12232, which postponed the BSKE to November 26.

“The SC then ordered the three petitions consolidated,” the High Court said in a statement.

Macalintal asked the court to declare RA 12232 unconstitutional, or to the extent that it pertains to the postponement of the election on December 1, 2025.

He also sought a temporary restraining order and/ or status quo ante order directing the respondents to cease and desist from implementing RA 12232 or to observe the status quo before its passage.

Aside from this, the SC said it directed Macalintal, Congress, the Office of the President, and the Commission on Elections to comment on the petition-in-intervention filed by the Liga ng Barangays within a period of 10 days from notice.

The barangays asked the High Court to dismiss Macalintal’s petition for lack of merit. — BAP, GMA Integrated News