Palace says proposed barangay, SK polls suspension needs study

By Darryl John Esguerra, Philippine News Agency

POLL PREPS. The National Printing Office in Quezon City prepares rolls of paper for ballot printing for the November 2026 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections in this Oct. 13, 2025 photo. Bills seeking to postpone the 2026 BSKE and extend the terms of barangay and SK officials have been filed in both chambers of Congress, with the ongoing energy emergency linked to the Middle East crisis among the reasons cited for the proposed postponement. (PNA photo by Joan Bondoc)

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will first study the proposal to postpone the 2026 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) before making any stand on the issue, Malacañang said Tuesday.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the President could not immediately support or reject the proposal without first determining why the elections need to be postponed.

“Sa ngayon po ay dapat mabasa muna kung anuman po ang kanilang panukala (For now, the President must first read whatever proposal they have),” Castro said during a Palace briefing.

“Hindi po maaaring sumang-ayon agad, hindi puwedeng sumang-ayon or hindi sumang-ayon hanggat hindi nakikita kung bakit kailangan ng ganitong klaseng panukala at bakit kinakailangan ma-postpone (He cannot immediately agree, nor can he agree or disagree, until he sees why such a proposal is needed and why the elections have to be postponed).”

Bills seeking to postpone the 2026 BSKE and to extend the terms of barangay and SK officials have been filed in both chambers of Congress. Among the reasons cited for the postponement is the ongoing energy emergency due to the Middle East crisis.

Castro, however, said any proposal citing the energy crisis as justification for postponing the elections would have to establish a clear basis for such a move.

“Siguro mas maganda po kung ma-justify talaga na dahil sa krisis ng enerhiya dapat i-postpone ng ilang taon (Perhaps it would be better if it is properly justified why the elections should be postponed for several years because of the energy crisis),” she said.

The proposal has also not been discussed at the recent Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council meeting with the President, according to Castro.

The BSKE has previously been postponed through legislation, with the latest postponement moving the elections to November 2026.

This article is republished from PNA.