By Benjamin Pulta
MANILA – The nationwide association of barangays (villages) has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to dismiss the petitions challenging the constitutionality of Republic Act (RA) No. 12232 that extends the term of incumbent village officials and reschedules the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) to November 2026.
The petition for intervention was filed by Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas, led by its national president, Brgy. San Fabian, Echaque, Isabela chief Maria Katrina Jessica Dy, according to an SC post.
The group, through counsel Albert Agra, urged the court to dismiss for lack of basis the petitions seeking to strike down RA 12232.
Among other things, the group said that RA 12232 fixed and extends the term of Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials, a power granted to Congress.
They said it is not like RA 11935, which merely postponed the December 2022 BSKE and which was struck down by the tribunal for being unconstitutional.
The group also asserted that the power and duty to determine the term of office of barangay officials is expressly vested in Congress by the Constitution.
“To reiterate, the authority to extend the term of BSK officials is one that is granted by the Constitution to the legislature. The authority to question this wisdom without any evidence of its illegality, inequity, or grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction is one that the Constitution guards against,” they said.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. earlier explained his decision to sign the law to allow the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to fully focus on the first-ever Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentary elections on Oct. 13.
The President said the preparation of BARMM elections in October and the Barangay and SK polls in December could overstretch the Comelec and divert attention and resources from ensuring the success of the historic Bangsamoro process. (PNA)
