Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal has asked the Supreme Court to strike down Republic Act 12326, the law that pushed the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections from November 2026 to November 2028, while the Commission on Elections says it has already stopped preparing for the vote.
According to The Philippine Star (Christine Boton and Rainier Allan Ronda), Macalintal filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition over the weekend, seeking a temporary restraining order or status quo ante order against the law's implementation and a declaration that the postponement is invalid or unconstitutional.
Comelec: ready for whatever, but already stopped
Comelec Chairman George Garcia told the Star: "Whatever the Supreme Court may issue, the Comelec is prepared. However, we have already stopped all activities related to the 2026 barangay and SK elections in recognition of the new law."
That sentence carries the whole practical problem. The Star reported that Comelec spent roughly ₱8 billion preparing for the November 2, 2026 vote. If the court were to restore the original date, the poll body would be restarting a halted exercise with about a month to go — a scenario Garcia's statement says it is "prepared" for, without saying how. Neither the cost of restarting nor a revised timeline was included in the report, and Pulpulitiko has not seen either.
RA 12326 does two things: it moves the elections to November 2028, and it lengthens barangay and SK officials' terms from four years to five. The Star also noted that Comelec projects 74 million registered voters for the 2028 national elections, with a possible additional one million by the November 2028 barangay polls.
Context: a warning that went unheeded
Pulpulitiko reported on September 27 that Marcos signed the law despite a public plea from Macalintal to veto it, with the lawyer warning that the bill blurs "term" and "tenure" in a way that could trap term-limited incumbents in office. Earlier coverage noted that Senate Bill 2387, sponsored by Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero, marks the second postponement of barangay and SK elections in two years, and that Macalintal's own earlier Supreme Court case is being cited against his position.
What is still unknown
The Supreme Court had not, in the report reviewed, acted on the petition or ordered the respondents to comment. It is not clear whether the court will issue the restraining order Macalintal seeks before the November 2 date originally set. Malacañang's response to the petition was not included in the Star's report.
The awkward fact for everyone involved: officials who stand to serve an extra year are the ones who benefit if the court does nothing, and the agency that spent ₱8 billion preparing has, on its own account, already stopped. If the court does intervene late, the bill for the confusion will land on voters, not on the lawmakers who wrote the law.
Sources
- The Philippine Star (Christine Boton, Rainier Allan Ronda), "Comelec prepared to comply with SC ruling on BSKE," September 30, 2026 — https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2026/09/30/2559927/comelec-prepared-comply-sc-ruling-bske
- Pulpulitiko, prior coverage of RA 12326 and SB 2387 (Sept. 24 and Sept. 27, 2026)