Comelec mulls suspension of BSKE preparations

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June 13, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Following the passage of a bill again extending the term of village officials, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is considering suspending some of the ongoing preparations for the scheduled Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) in December.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia said members of the commission are holding an emergency meeting next week to discuss which of the BSKE election preparations could be halted.

“For example, procurement, there are things which shouldn’t be bought right away because they might expire, like indelible ink. Others can be postponed, like voter registration set on July 1 to 11,” Garcia disclosed.

If the BSKE election is rescheduled, Garcia said, the Comelec may opt to hold a longer voter registration period after the October Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao parliamentary elections until August next year.

Garcia said the Comelec may also need additional budget for the BSKE because there will be more voters.

However, Garcia said the measure to extend the term of Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials is yet to be enacted into law by President Marcos. The Supreme Court has declared a similar law as unconstitutional.

Concerning the filing of statement of contributions and expenditures, Garcia said almost all of the candidates, party-list groups and political parties were able to beat the deadline.

Garcia said only three senatorial candidates, three political parties and 14 party-list groups failed to submit the required SOCE for those that participated in the May 12 elections.

All the submitted SOCEs will be subjected to audit, which Garcia said will take about six months to complete. All those documents will also be posted on the Comelec website for the public to scrutinize.

Garcia said there are 44,000 candidates, party-list groups and political parties nationwide, thus it would be difficult for the Comelec to look into the SOCE.

“Here the vigilance of citizens comes in. Not only political opponents but ordinary constituents can see if that submitted is true or not,” he said.

Those who have overspent, Garcia said, will be slapped with an election offense case with a penalty of perpetual disqualification from holding public office.