RA 12232 extends term of Barangay, SK Officials, postpones 2025 elections 

By Sab Abad and Milliene Rocas

Graphics by Moira Lou Clemente

Barangay officials may now hold power for a maximum of 12 consecutive years, while Sanggunian Kabataan officials shall have no more than one term. 

This, comes after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed into law Republic Act No. 12232, increasing the term of barangay and SK officials to four years. The new law also postponed the December 2025 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) to November 2026, effectively extending the incumbent officials’ term of office, granting them an additional year.  

Prior to the new law, the BSKE was originally scheduled on December 1, 2025, prompting the recent voter registration period on August 1 to 10. Now, RA 12232 adjusted the BSKE to be held on the first Monday of November 2026 and every four years thereafter. 

Notably, election lawyer Atty. Romulo Macalintal challenged the constitutionality of the new law before the Supreme Court. In his petition for certiorari and prohibition, he argued that the postponement of the December 2025 election violates people’s right to suffrage and right to information.

Macalintal contended that RA 12232, titled “An Act setting the Term of Office of Barangay Officials and Members of the Sanggunian Kabataan, and for other Purposes,” also violated the one subject, one title rule found in Section 26(1), Article VI of the 1987 Constitution since the said postponement was “inconsistent with or foreign to the general subject” of the title, merely setting a new term of office.

In the said petition, he cited inconsistent subjects, namely: the setting of a new term of office for barangay officials and SK officials, the postponement of the 2025 BSKE, and the extension of the tenure of the incumbent BSK officials.

“The early filing of [this] petition means early determination whether to proceed or not with our preparations. The cloud of uncertainty should be removed outright,” said COMELEC Chairman George Garcia in his public statement. 

The pending Supreme Court review of the constitutionality of RA 12232 leaves the December 2025 BSKE in question, as the COMELEC awaits a decision before proceeding with preparations. Nevertheless, the BSKE shall be held in November 2026 in accordance with the newly enacted law.