SINCE Friday last week, social media has been abuzz over the second postponement of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).
Public opinion is split, of course. Many are angry, while others — particularly incumbent barangay and SK officials whose terms have effectively been extended — are extremely happy.
But here comes the more serious question: Why are some politicians seemingly afraid of the BSKE?
Under the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the BSKE has effectively been postponed twice.
The facts:
* First postponement – In August 2025, Republic Act (RA) No. 12232 moved the BSKE originally scheduled for December 2025 to November 2026.
* Second postponement – In September 2026, RA 12326 moved the November 2026 BSKE to November 2028.
VALID REASONS
Now, here are two striking questions:
Is the economic crisis a valid reason to postpone the BSKE?
Did the infamous flood control controversy have anything to do with the latest postponement?
I spoke with a Bacolod City political analyst, who requested anonymity, to get his take on the matter.
According to him, the flood control scandal could be one reason many politicians, particularly congressmen, were “itching” to postpone the BSKE amid tighter access to political resources.
Why?
The analyst claimed that politicians now have more limited access to Department of Public Works and Highways infrastructure projects because of the continuing controversies surrounding flood control projects.
Consequently, he argued, some politicians may have fewer resources to support their preferred barangay and SK candidates.
Candidly, the analyst added that supporting an entire slate of barangay and SK candidates can be costly.
The BSKE, he claimed, has become a lucrative political venture for some people planning to run for public office.
Some candidates, he alleged, virtually “sell” their candidacies to mayors and congressmen in exchange for political and financial backing.
And if you are a mayor or congressman seeking to maintain your political machinery, supporting candidates at the barangay level can become part of the political equation.
Again, why?
Because, according to the analyst, vote-buying has increasingly become a disturbing feature of barangay elections.
‘KISS OF DEATH’
So, instead of spending heavily on the BSKE, some local politicians may prefer to conserve their financial resources for their own election or re-election campaigns in 2028. Gets!?
The logic is simple: Secure your own political survival first before spending heavily on the candidates you endorse at the barangay level.
What superb political logic, indeed. t brings to mind the familiar safety instruction: “Put on your own oxygen mask before helping others.” Quite relevant.
The flood control controversy could also become an issue in the 2028 elections, reaching all the way down to the barangay level. People may be angry now, but they are keeping the peace. At the ballot box, however, anger can have a long memory.
For politicians perceived by voters as having engineered or supported the repeated postponement of the BSKE, the issue could become a political “kiss of death.” Voters who resent the postponements may not easily forget the politicians they believe deprived them — not once, but twice — of the opportunity to choose their barangay and SK leaders as originally scheduled.
And so, their message could be simple but weighty: “Kita-ay lang ’ta sa balota!”
‘BALLOT REVENGE’
“Kita-ay lang ’ta sa balota” — We’ll settle this at the polls — sounds like a stern warning from voters who feel they have repeatedly been denied the chance to choose their barangay leaders on schedule.
Could this become a turning point?
I hope voters have changed.
Perhaps what some call “ballot revenge” or “voter vengeance” will simply mean voters becoming more discerning when the national and local elections are held in May 2028 and the BSKE follows in November.
Perhaps this could help pave the way for a genuine “Bag-ong Pilipinas” — a New Philippines where voters follow the dictates of their conscience regardless of whether money changes hands. It is my fervent wish to see the day when Jose, Pedro and Juan no longer wait for P500 or P1,000 from politicians before deciding whom to vote for.
I want to see them become more responsible in choosing the people who will lead them. Perhaps, then, the repeated postponement of the BSKE could have an unintended consequence: awakening voters to the importance of protecting their right to choose their leaders.
If public frustration over the postponements translates into greater political awareness, then voters themselves will decide how that anger should be expressed when election day finally comes.
American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift once said: “It is not enough to just want change… You have to go and make a change by voting.”/PN
