MANILA, Philippines — The National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) said they are opposing House Bill 10376, that seeks to postpone the synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (Village and Youth Council Elections or BSKE) to 2028.
HB 10376, which was filed on Aug. 1, and introduced on the House of Representatives’ floor on Aug. 3, aims to move the election date from its original schedule on Nov. 2, 2026 to November in 2028.
In a statement, the poll watchdog called on the Lower House to reject the measure and allow the polls to proceed as scheduled.
“Namfrel appeals to the House of Representatives to reject House Bill No. 10376 and to Congress as a whole to resist further attempts to postpone the 2026 BSKE, including House Bill No. 10591 and any similar measure. We urge the Commission on Elections, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and all relevant agencies to continue preparations for a synchronized, orderly, and credible BSKE on November 2, 2026, exactly as the law currently provides,” Namfrel said in a statement.
The watchdog said the timing has a questionable motive, as moving the date of the village and youth council polls would put it in the same calendar as the next presidential elections, which is set to take place in May 2028.
“[Village] officials are influential mobilizers in national campaigns, and critics — including constitutional experts and election watchdogs — have already noted that this alignment serves political convenience as much as, if not more than, economic necessity. A measure that invites this level of doubt about its true purpose should not be the basis for suspending a constitutional right,” Namfrel said.
“The incumbent barangay and SK officials were elected in October 2023. Postponing the BSKE to 2028 would extend their tenure to five years through a legislative holdover — without a single fresh mandate from the electorate. This dilutes local accountability precisely where it matters most: at the level of government closest to the citizen. Regular elections are not an administrative convenience the State may suspend when budgets tighten; they are a constitutional guarantee that voters owe to no one’s discretion but their own,” they added.
Namfrel said that while it acknowledged the economic pressures cited by the bill’s proponents, that included inflation, energy costs and fiscal discipline, the poll body said that realities could make a far more compelling case for proceeding with the polls on Nov. 2 rather than calling for its postponement.
It also cited a Supreme Court ruling that already postponed the 2025 polls to November this year and passing that bill at the Lower House months after that transition would “reopen a question the law itself just settled, and would signal to future Congresses that election dates are negotiable whenever it is politically convenient.”
“We likewise call on our fellow citizens, civil society organizations, and the broader election-monitoring community to remain vigilant and to make their voices heard on this issue. The right to elect one's local leaders on schedule is not a privilege that Congress may withhold when it finds the timing inconvenient — it is a promise the State owes to every barangay in the country,” it added.
The measure already has a backer in Senator Francis Escudero, who filed a Senate bill extending the term of the village officials from four to five years.
