Nov. 2 BSKE in limbo as Comelec urges Congress to decide by September

National

WITH billions of pesos already spent preparing for the Nov. 2 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is urging Congress to settle the polls’ fate by September.

Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia made the appeal during a hearing of the House committee on suffrage and electoral reforms, which is considering several bills seeking to postpone the elections.

“The Comelec is ready to conduct the elections this coming Nov. 2. We are just appealing to you to decide by September,” Garcia was quoted by Philstar as he spoke to lawmakers, acknowledging that the decision ultimately rests with Congress.

Lawmakers seeking a postponement have cited economic and domestic challenges arising from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. San Juan City Rep. Ysabel Zamora, one of the bill’s authors, said moving the elections would allow the government to focus first on economic recovery.

Garcia said the proposed measure, which cites the energy crisis, developments in the Middle East and possible increases in commodity prices, could face scrutiny under the standards previously set by the Supreme Court. He said proponents should be prepared to defend the measure before the Court if Congress approves it.

In July 2023, the Supreme Court declared Republic Act No. 11935 unconstitutional. The law had moved the BSKE from Dec. 5, 2022, to the last Monday of October 2023.

The Court found “no legitimate government interest or objective” supporting the postponement and ruled that the law “unconstitutionally exceed[ed] the bounds of the Congress’ power to legislate.”

The Court also identified circumstances that could justify postponing elections, including a “public emergency situation” and “election fatigue.”

Garcia said the Comelec had completed the removal of multiple registrants from the national voters’ list and had already printed the ballots. Of the P19 billion allocated for the BSKE, P8 billion has been spent, while the remaining P11 billion is earmarked for teachers’ honoraria, training and deployment.

The printed ballots could still be reused if the elections are postponed, Garcia said, but markers and indelible ink could be wasted because they have a one-year shelf life.

If Congress postpones the polls, Garcia urged lawmakers to schedule them no later than June 2027, when preparations for the national and local elections would become critical. The Comelec would also resume voter registration in September and need to increase precincts and print updated voters’ lists.

The poll body received more than 5.4 million voter applications during registration from Oct. 20, 2025, to May 18, 2026. A postponement would mark the second time the BSKE has been rescheduled.(MyTVCebu)