THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday warned lawmakers that funds earmarked for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) cannot be repurposed, even if Congress decides to postpone the polls.
The statement came as the House of Representatives moves to again defer the grassroots elections and redirect the P16-billion budget to cushion the impact of Middle East hostilities.
Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said Congress may reset the election date, but it cannot legally transfer election funds to other agencies or programs.
“Postponement is within the power of Congress, but the funds allocated for the elections are another matter entirely,” Garcia said. “Once these are appropriated under the General Appropriations Act, especially for a constitutional body like Comelec, they cannot be diverted elsewhere.” Any adjustments to the budget must remain within the poll body.
Moving the funds outside Comelec, he said, would violate the Constitution which is designed to protect the independence of institutions tasked with overseeing elections.
“The Constitution is explicit — appropriations for a specific office cannot be altered or transferred to another expenditure outside that agency,” he added.
While acknowledging the urgency of addressing the economic fallout from tensions in the Middle East, Garcia cautioned that good intentions do not automatically translate into legal justification. He pointed to a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court which struck down Republic Act 11935. The law had postponed the 2022 BSKE and cited the need to redirect funds for pandemic response — an argument the Supreme Court rejected. “At that time, the Supreme Court said the justification was not sufficient, especially since the country was already recovering,” Garcia said. “That precedent should serve as a warning. Even well-meaning proposals can be invalidated if they fail constitutional scrutiny.” Garcia urged lawmakers to carefully study the legal implications of any plan to defer the elections anew, noting that a flawed justification could ultimately derail the entire measure. “Hopefully, the legality will be thoroughly examined. Otherwise, the same fate could await — nullification by the Court,” he said.
Despite the uncertainty, Comelec is pressing ahead with preparations for the BSKE scheduled on Nov. 2.
Garcia assured the public the commission is ready to carry out its mandate, while respecting whatever final decision Congress reaches.
If the proposed postponement pushes through, it would mark the third time the village and youth polls have been delayed — raising concerns about prolonged terms for incumbent local officials.
Comelec has set aside P19 billion for the 2026 elections, with around P3 billion already spent on printing roughly 90 million ballots and procuring other election materials.
Legal way
On Monday, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said there is a legal way to realign the budget for holding the BSKE to address the oil crisis.
The BSKE, originally scheduled for Dec. 1, 2025, was moved to Nov. 2, 2026. But some lawmakers pushed to postpone the BSKE anew due to the ongoing fuel crisis triggered by the Middle East war.
Lacson noted that realigning the Comelec budget for the BSKE to agencies outside the Comelec may be unconstitutional.
Lacson allayed the concerns of Garcia on the legality of the proposals to postpone the BSKE and use some P16 billion in unspent funds allocated to it to address the oil crisis.
The Senate president pro tempore said a “constitutional path exists to channel the funds for crisis response.” “What the [Comelec] chairman says is true. Funds allocated to the Comelec cannot be realigned to items outside it because that would be unconstitutional,” Lacson said in a statement.
“But the allocations can still be treated as savings. Comelec may opt not to spend the funds for the BSKE and declare them as savings to be returned to the [National] Treasury,” Lacson said.
Garcia had said in a radio interview that out of some P19 billion allocated for the BSKE under the 2026 General Appropriations Act, some P3 billion had been spent for preparations.
He said that while Congress has the power to postpone the BSKE anew, the Constitution bars the realignment of funds outside the Comelec.
After being informed of Lacson’s response, Garcia voiced his agreement. “Yes, that is the correct approach, and Sen[ator] Lacson is right.”
“As a constitutional body, we can return unspent funds as savings. That could be a strategy for Congress to consider — rather than transferring the funds, the elections may not proceed and the allocated budget would not be spent,” Garcia said.
Unused funds become savings and can be returned to the Treasury, and be made available for other purposes,” he added.
