MANILA, Philippines —“The fight has just begun,” election lawyer Romulo Macalintal said Wednesday after the Supreme Court (SC) acted on his challenge to the law postponing the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections to 2028.
Macalintal welcomed the Supreme Court’s action on his petition challenging Republic Act 12326, which moves the next Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) to November 2028.
Macalintal said the High Court’s directive requiring the Office of the President, the Senate, the House of Representatives and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to submit their comments within a non-extendible five calendar days was a significant development in his case.
He said the short period given to the respondents showed that the Court was giving the petition prompt attention, although the directive itself does not mean the Court has ruled on the merits of his challenge.
Macalintal said he remained confident that the Supreme Court could issue a favorable ruling soon and stressed that the case concerned what he described as the voters’ fundamental right to elect their barangay leaders.
“The fight is not over—it has just begun,” Macalintal said, urging the public to continue supporting his challenge.
He also sought to assure voters that a Supreme Court ruling against RA 12326 would not necessarily derail the electoral process, saying the Comelec has the administrative and operational capability to reset the polls to another date close to November 2026, or to a date the Court may order.
The Comelec has said it was prepared to comply with whatever ruling the Supreme Court issues on the BSKE postponement. Chairman George Garcia said the poll body had suspended preparations for the Nov. 2, 2026 elections following the enactment of RA 12326 but would act accordingly should the Supreme Court intervene.
RA 12326, signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sept. 24, 2026 moves the next regular BSKE from Nov. 2, 2026 to the second Monday of November 2028 and sets succeeding barangay and SK elections every five years. It also fixes the terms of elected barangay and SK officials at five years.
Macalintal filed his petition for certiorari and prohibition before the Supreme Court on Sept. 28, asking the Court to stop the implementation of RA 12326 through a temporary restraining order or status quo ante order and ultimately declare the postponement unconstitutional.
