Marcos asked: Veto BSKE postponement

MANILA, Philippines —  Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal has urged President Marcos to veto the enrolled bill postponing the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) to November 2028, citing a legal defect arising from what he described as the measure’s confusion between the concepts of “term” and “tenure” of office.

In a supplemental letter-petition on Sept. 22, Macalintal reiterated his request for a personal hearing with Marcos and his legal advisers to present his objections to the measure.

He questioned the transitory provision of the enrolled bill, which states that incumbent elective barangay officials would be considered to have completed one term because of the two-year extension, while those serving their last term in the same position would be ineligible to seek the same post in the November 2028 BSKE.

He argued that the provision improperly treats the holdover period of incumbent officials as an extension of their term rather than their tenure.

“Holdover means an ‘extension of tenure,’ which is distinct from an extension of the term of office,” Macalintal said in his petition.

According to the lawyer, the distinction is significant because the current barangay officials were elected in October 2023 under the law then in force, while the holdover arrangement allows them to remain in office beyond their original term.

He argued that the enrolled bill does not clearly state whether the new five-year term applies retroactively to officials elected in 2023 or only prospectively to officials elected after the law takes effect.

Treating the current uncompleted term as a completed term could affect incumbent officials serving their final allowable consecutive term by making them ineligible to seek reelection in 2028, he said.

“The Legal Network for Truthful Elections also called on Marcos to veto the bill. – Helen Flores