ILOILO City – More than 4.2 million registered voters in Western Visayas will have to wait until 2028 to elect new barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. signed a law scrapping the November 2026 polls and extending the terms of village and youth officials to five years.
Republic Act (RA) No. 12326 resets the synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE), previously scheduled for Nov. 2, 2026, to the second Monday of November 2028, effectively allowing incumbent officials to remain in office until their successors are elected and qualified.
The signing immediately upended election preparations across Western Visayas, where Commission on Elections (Comelec) field offices were gearing up for the filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs) beginning Sept. 28.
Comelec Region 6, however, was still awaiting a formal resolution from its central office directing field offices to stop all BSKE-related operations.
“Ang Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections sa November 2, 2026 ay hindi na itutuloy,” Comelec-6 stated in a local directive issued Sept. 25.
Pinky Jevini G. Tentativa, Election Officer IV of Comelec Iloilo City, said the law is already in effect but field offices need the formal directive before terminating preparations.
“We’re waiting for the official promulgation from our main office na mag-untat na sang operations in connection with BSKE 2026. So with that law nga ginpermahan ni President Marcos, we only have to wait for the official resolution from the main office nga mag-untat na kami sang preparation sa BSKE that includes the filing of Certificate of Candidacy,” Tentativa told Panay News.
“The law is already enacted so, i-implement. That is for us to enforce. Nag-announce na si (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia nga anytime within the day mapa-gwa na sila sang resolution about that,” she added.
Latest Comelec-6 data showed Western Visayas has 4,246,670 registered voters, combining regular and SK electorates, across 3,389 barangays.
The regular electorate includes 1,649,653 voters in Iloilo, 544,622 in Capiz, 417,387 in Aklan, 404,557 in Antique, and 126,024 in Guimaras.
The region also has 1,104,427 registered SK voters — 572,056 in Iloilo, 195,065 in Capiz, 147,725 in Antique, 146,733 in Aklan and 42,848 in Guimaras.
With the 2026 elections cancelled, Tentativa said voter registration is expected to resume later this year.
“May ara na initial announcement nga mag-resume sang voter registration for the 2028 local and national elections starting second week of November this year,” she said.
Malacañang confirmed Friday that Marcos had signed RA 12326, which institutionalizes five-year terms for barangay and SK officials and schedules succeeding elections every five years.
Marcos told incumbent officials that their longer tenure should translate into better services and completion of programs rather than simply more time in power.
“Sa paglagda natin sa Republic Act No, 12326, na nagtatakda ng limang taong termino para sa mga opisyal ng barangay at Sangguniang Kabataan, malinaw ang ating inaasahan sa ating mga kasalukuyang opisyal. Gamitin ang panahong ito upang mas pagbutihin ang serbisyo, tapusin ang mga nasimulang programa at mas tutukan ang pangangailangan ng bawat komunidad, pamilya at kabataan,” Marcos said in his Facebook page.
“Hindi ito dagdag na panahon sa puwesto. Dagdag itong panahon ng pananagutan sa taumbayan,” he added.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro separately confirmed the signing during a briefing in Ilocos Norte.
“Pinirmahan na po ng Pangulo,” Castro said.
Castro said the longer terms would give barangay officials more time to carry out projects and address grassroots concerns, including criminality and community cleanliness, but stressed that the extension comes with an expectation of greater performance.
“Ito ay para sila magtrabaho. Kaya para sa mga barangay officials, ang kailangan po namin ay trabaho mula sa inyo,” Castro said.
RA 12326 also mandates continuing leadership and capacity-building programs for barangay and SK officials involving the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Comelec, and state universities and colleges.
The latest postponement marks another reset of the synchronized grassroots elections, which have been repeatedly rescheduled since 2016./PN
