Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia (center) with Comelec Commissioner Ernesto Maceda Jr. and NIR Regional Election Director Lionel Marco Castillano (right) at the conference in Bacolod City.*CPG photo
The House of Representatives approved on third and final reading Monday night, June 9, a bill that extends the terms of Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials from three years to six years.
HB No.11287, which was approved with 153 votes, also seeks to postpone the December 1 Barangay and SK elections to the second Monday of May 2029.
There were four negative votes, and one abstention.
That means the incumbent barangay and SK officials elected on Oct. 30, 2023 will remain in office until the next election in May 2029 if the approved bill is signed into law .
HB No.11287 bill sets a two-term limit for elective barangay officials and one term for elective SK officials.
The Senate in January approved Senate Bill 2816, which sets the term of office of elected barangay officials and SK members to four years, with a limit of three consecutive terms.
It also set the next regular barangay and SK elections for the first Monday of October 2027 and every four years thereafter.
The Senate and House of Representatives bills are expected to be reconciled in a bicameral conference committee before being submitted to the President for signing into law.
The Barangay and SK elections will he held on December 1 as scheduled, Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said at a press conference Monday afternoon before the House of Representatives voted to reschedule it.
Garcia, who was in Bacolod City with other Comelec officials for a post midterm elections assessment, said at a press conference at Seda Hotel that they also discussed preparations for the BSKE that are already underway.
The BSKE votes will be counted manually and polling centers will again be set up for Kanlaon Volcano evacuees, he added.
He noted that the voters turnout during the midterm elections in the Negros Island Region (NIR) was 82 percent, which was close to the nationwide turnout of 82.2 percent.
He warned that premature campaigning would not be allowed once the candidates file their COCs.
Garcia also warned that local officials supporting barangay candidates also cannot prematurely campaign and use government resources or projects to do so.
The Comelec will file charges against those engaged in premature campaigning, he warned.
COMELEC commissioner Ernesto Maceda Jr. said public officials who use government resources and programs to assist barangay candidates in their campaigns will also face charges for abuse of state resources.
Garcia and Maceda were joined at his Bacolod press conference by Comelec Executive Director Teopisto Elnas Jr. and NIR Regional Election Director Lionel Marco Castillano.*