Senate President Francis Escudero on Monday defended the constitutionality of a bill extending the term of barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials from three to four years, insisting it corrects the flaws flagged by the Supreme Court in a similar law declared partially unconstitutional in 2023.

Escudero explained that the earlier law was voided because it postponed the elections without defining the term of office for officials.

The new bill, he said, avoids that mistake by both rescheduling the elections and clearly stating the four-year term.

“Hindi ini-strike down ng Korte Suprema ang pagpapaliban ng eleksyon. Ang ini-strike down yung kawalan ng term (The Supreme Court did not strike down the postponement of the elections, only the absence of a defined term), Escudero said in a press briefing.

“Ito, pinagpaliban pero nag-set ng term… sa pananaw naming, ay compliant dahil naiiba ito sa una (This one postpones but sets the term… in our view, it is compliant because it differs from the earlier law).”

The Senate recently ratified the bicameral conference committee report reconciling Senate Bill No. 2816 and House Bill No. 11287.

The final version caps barangay officials’ service at three terms, while SK officials are limited to one term in the same post.

While not originally among the priority measures of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC), Escudero said Congress took action ahead of the December 2025 polls.

“Nahabol naman namin ‘yan at napasa naming lahat ng priority measures except for one or two (We were able to act on it and passed all the priority measures except one or two), he noted.

Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal has urged President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to veto the measure, claiming it still effectively postpones the 2025 polls without a voter mandate and violates the constitutional rule requiring single-subject legislation.

Macalintal compared it to Republic Act 11935, which was invalidated for similar reasons.

Despite this, Escudero expressed confidence that Marcos would sign the bill into law unless the Supreme Court issued a contrary ruling.

BARMM vote must push through

Meanwhile, Escudero voiced firm support for the scheduled October 2025 elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), calling it the region’s first meaningful exercise in democratic leadership.

Escudero said he remains confident the BARMM polls will push through and that future leaders will owe their mandate to the people, not to political appointments. (PNA)