In Focus: Postponing the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections

The year 2025 was supposed to be a super election year for the Philippines with the national and local midterm elections in May, the first regular Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Parliamentary Elections in October, and the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) in December. The BARMM elections and BSKE, however, were postponed to 2026. The BARMM elections took place on 14 September 2026 after a series of postponements. The BSKE, scheduled for 2 November 2026, was postponed. On 25 September 2026, Philippine president Bongbong Marcos signed into law Republic Act No. 12326 which sets the term of barangay officials to five years, consequentially postponing the elections to November 2028.In Season 04 Episode 02 of “The Election Observer” podcast, ANFREL will discuss the repercussions of postponing the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections in the Philippines and how that impacts governance and the people’s right to suffrage. Joining us in this episode are Atty Izah Katrina Reyes, policy consultant at the Legal Network for Truthful Elections and Mr. Miguel Karlo Abadines, executive director of Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan.