The Philippine Supreme Court's ruling upholding the postponement of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) could encourage lawmakers to delay future elections, according to election lawyer Romulo B. Macalintal, who plans to seek reconsideration of the decision.

The BSKE determines the leadership of barangays, the country's smallest administrative divisions, and of the Sangguniang Kabataan, the youth councils that operate alongside them in local government. Because the term lengths of these officials are fixed by statute, their electoral calendar rests on legislation — the congressional authority at the center of the court dispute.

“If this ruling remains uncorrected, and if no one stands up to warn of its dangerous consequences to our democratic system, RA (Republic Act) No. 12326 will not stop at the barangay level,” Mr. Macalintal said in a statement on Monday.

“It could embolden legislators to tamper with the May 2028 presidential elections,” he added.

Mr. Macalintal said he would ask the high court to reconsider its ruling and to grant his request for oral arguments on his petition challenging the law that reset the BSKE to November 2028. A motion for reconsideration asks the Supreme Court to re-examine its own decision, while oral arguments would allow the parties to answer the justices' questions in open court. He warned that allowing Congress to extend the terms of elected officials under the measure could set a precedent for postponing other elections under the guise of its authority to determine terms of office.

The election lawyer said he remains hopeful that the court would reverse its decision, noting that five justices dissented while one justice was on leave when the ruling was handed down.

The high court, voting 9-5-1, dismissed Mr. Macalintal's petition challenging the law, ruling that Republic Act No. 12326 primarily fixes the terms of barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials rather than postponing elections. It held that Congress has the authority to determine their terms, provided elections remain regular, fixed and predictable.

Meanwhile, the National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) urged Congress to prevent further postponements of the village and youth polls.

“A calendar that changes each time an election draws near is not predictable. The BSKE has already been rescheduled twice since December 2025. It must not move again,” the election watchdog said in a separate statement.

The group called on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to begin preparations for the 2028 polls. It also urged Congress to establish safeguards requiring public justification and hearings before any future election postponement, and said it would monitor legislative measures and election preparations to guard against another delay.

The near-term developments to watch are the court's action on Mr. Macalintal's motion for reconsideration and his request for oral arguments, any congressional response to the proposed postponement safeguards, and the pace of Comelec's preparations for the November 2028 BSKE.

— Erika Mae P. Sinaking, BusinessWorld

Source: BusinessWorld