SEN. Imee Marcos saw the necessity of postponing the 2026 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) to allow the government to use the P16-billion poll budget for the sectors affected by the oil crisis. The BSKE, originally scheduled for Dec. 1, 2025, had been moved to Nov. 2, 2026. The senator on Sunday said that during the hearing last year of the 2026 budget of the Commission on Elections, the poll body said the holding of the BSKE will require about P16 billion. “At a time when the country is confronted with serious economic challenges brought about by the oil crisis, prudence demands that we prioritize the allocation of limited public resources,” Marcos said in a statement. She said the fund “can be more urgently directed toward addressing the immediate needs of our people, including rising fuel costs, food security and essential public services.”
“Equally important, postponement will allow our local officials to remain fully focused on governance and crisis response, rather than being drawn into the distractions of electoral politics,” Marcos said. “In times such as these, continuity of leadership at the grassroots level can help ensure stability and more efficient delivery of public services.” Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia earlier said that some P3 billion had already been spent for preparations for the BSKE polls.
Garcia said that while Congress has the power to postpone the BSKE anew, the Constitution bars the realignment of funds outside the Comelec. Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson earlier said there is a legal way to realign the budget allocated for the holding of the 2026 BSKE to address the oil crisis.
“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.
