The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday said it will go on with its preparations for the December 1 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) even if a bill that would extend the term of barangay and youth officials to four years is signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
The Comelec also said that even without a law settling the reallocation of the seven parliamentary seats originally for Sulu, it will push through with its preparations for the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections (BPE) scheduled on October 13.
“We will write a letter to the Bangsamoro Parliament that we will now proceed with the preparations for the BPE,” said Garcia.
He said this is because they are already running short of time to prepare for the first-ever parliamentary polls in the Philippines.
“It would be risky if we will still wait for the decision on the seven seats (of Sulu) as we may run out of time to fully prepare for the BPE,” said Garcia.
“We will no longer reopen the COC filing since there is no law reallocating the seven seats. Therefore, there will be nobody else filing their COCs,” said Garcia.
BSKE polls
Earlier, the Bicameral Conference Committee approved the bill that would extend the term of barangay and youth officials to four yeas effectively postponing the December 1 BSKE.
Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal, however, urged President Marcos to veto the measure citing the constitutional and legal flaws of the proposed law.
In an interview, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said they still intend to pursue their BSKE preparations since there remains a possibility that the village and youth polls may still push through.
“What if we stop our preparations but the law isn’t signed or someone goes to the Supreme Court and gets a temporary restraining order (TRO)? We will be the one facing the problem,” said Garcia.
“It would be better if we just push through (with the preparations). We just want to be certain in case the BSKE pushes through. It’s better if the Comelec is ready,” he added.
The poll chief said they will push through with their procurement activities for the BSKE.
“However, we shall place a coletilla wherein, in case there is a supervening event, we hold the rights to cancel them,” said Garcia.
On the other hand, he said the Comelec will be deferring the voter registration period originally set from July 1 to 11.
“We will just conduct voter registration by the last week of October or after the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections, and will run until July 2026,” said Garcia.
To recall, the exclusion of the Sulu province from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) by the Supreme Court (SC) was among the reasons for the postponement of the BPE from May 12 to October 13.
This is because there is a need for the Bangsamoro Parliament to amend the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Districts Act of 2024 and decide what to do with the seven parliamentary seats originally allocated for Sulu.
Earlier, the Comelec said they are willing to wait until the 2nd week of June for the Bangsamoro Parliament to decide on the matter.
