President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. has signed into law the postponement of the synchronized barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) election originally slated for December.
Under Republic Act No. 11935, signed by Marcos on Wednesday, Oct. 10, the elections will be now held on the last Monday of October in 2023 and every three years thereafter.
The terms of the elected officials in the 2023 barangay and SK election shall commence at noon on Nov. 30.
It said that “until their successors shall have been duly elected and qualified, all incumbent Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials shall remain in office, unless sooner removed or suspended.”
Likewise, Barangay and SK officials who are ex officio members of the sangguniang bayan, sangguniang panlungsod, or sangguniang panlalawigan will continue to serve as members in the sanggunian concerned until the next barangay and SK elections unless removed.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will take the amount necessary for the implementation of the law from the appropriations under the General Appropriations Act and/or supplementary appropriations, the new law said.
RA 11935 is the consolidated bill of two chambers of Congress, House bill no. 4673 and Senate Bill 1306.
Comelec will comply
In a statement released on Wednesday evening, Oct. 12, Comelec Spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said the Comelec en banc would meet and deliberate to revise the Calendar of Activities for the Oct. 30, 2023 barangay and SK polls.
He said election supplies and paraphernalia, which the Comelec prepared earlier this year, would not be put to waste as Chairman George Garcia repeatedly pledged.
"In the meantime, ballot printing operations at the National Printing Office will be temporarily suspended to reconfigure the ballot face templates to reflect the October 30, 2023 date of the BSKE in the next batch of official ballots,” Laudiangco said.
But the poll body would still resume the Continuing System of Voter Registration in the last week of November or the first week of December 2022 after requisite preparatory and training, he added.
