President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. now has the prerogative to postpone or proceed with the scheduled barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on December 1.

This was gathered after the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading House Bill. 11287, proposing to extend the term of office of barangay and SK officials from three years to six years beginning at noon of June 30.

A similar bill extending the term of office elected BSK officials and providing for the cancellation of the Dec. 1 polls has been approved by the Senate.

While containing different proposals for the term of office and the commencement of the proposed tour of duty of elected officials, the two bills have similar provisions for the deferment of the 2025 elections.

A bicameral conference committee is expected to be formed by the two legislative chambers to reconcile the conflicting provisions of the two approved bills.

Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, one of the principal authors of the bill, said if the measure is passed into law, all incumbent BSK officials elected on October 30, 2023 shall remain in office until the next synchronized elections to be held on the second Monday of May 2029 and every six years thereafter.

“This means that the BSK polls scheduled in December this year are reset to May 2029,” he said.

He said the measure also sets a two-term limit for barangay officials, while SK officers shall serve for only one term.

Senate Bill No. 2816 that was unanimously passed last January sets the next regular barangay and SK elections on the first Monday of October 2027 and every four years thereafter.

Commission on Elections Chairman George Erwin Garcia assured the public that the the poll body is prepared to conduct the BSKE on December 1 as scheduled.