THE Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday upheld the constitutionality of the law setting a four-year term for barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials, denying multiple consolidated petitions challenging the measure.
“Congress has the authority to set the term length of barangay officials, and this includes deciding when the new term begins,” said Associate Justice Jhosep Y. Lopez in the court’s decision.
The law, Republic Act No. 12232, also rescheduled the next youth elections from Dec. 1, 2025, to the first Monday of November 2026, with incumbent officials remaining in office until their successors are elected.
Petitioners argued the law violated the public’s right to vote, unfairly favored SK officials, and ignored guidelines for postponing elections set by a previous SC ruling.
“The law does not abolish or indefinitely suspend SK elections,” the court ruled. “It merely changes the interval from three to four years, keeping elections regular and predictable.” — Erika Mae P. Sinaking
