Comelec: Voter registration for 2025 BSKE to proceed in July
The scheduled voter registration for the 2025 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections will proceed as scheduled in July amid possible term extension of barangay officials, the Commission on Elections said Tuesday.
Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia made the remarks following the House of Representatives' approval on third and final reading of a bill seeking to extend the term of barangay and SK officials from three years to six.
'Yes,' Garcia told reporters in a virtual interview when asked if the voter registration for next month will push through amid the developments in the proposed measure.
'Matuloy man o hindi, ituloy natin muna para kahit papaano sa taon na 'to may makapagparehistro man lang tayo na mga kababayan kahit na 11 araw," he said.
(Whether it will be passed or not, we will continue with the voter registration.)
Voter registration for the 2028 presidential elections will open from January 2026 to 2027 while the registration for overseas Filipino voters will start in November 2025, Garcia added.
House Bill No. 11287, which seeks to extend the term of barangay officials, also provides a transitory provision which grants all incumbent barangay and SK officials elected last October 30, 2023 to remain in office until the next elections in May 2029, unless sooner removed or suspended for cause.
The bill also sets a two-term limit for barangay officials and one-term limit for SK officials. If signed into law, the synchronized barangay and SK elections will be held every six years on the second Monday of May starting in 2029.
A counterpart bill reached the Senate plenary in November 2024.
Meanwhile, the poll chief said the proposed legislation will not hinder the preparations of the Comelec for the 2025 BSKE.
The poll body has started the procurement of some of the requirements for the elections, including indelible inks and ballot boxes.
''Yung mga development na ganyan sa Kongreso, in the meantime, ay di namin pinapayagan na makaapekto sa paghahanda natin para sa BSKE,' he said.
(We will not let these developments hamper our preparations.)
'Kinakailangan lang simulan dahil ang procurement ay aabot ng 2 to 3 months depende pa kung magtutuloy-tuloy o magkakaroon ng tinatawag na failure of bidding. Ayaw natin mangyari 'yun. Iniiwasan natin 'yun. Mas maaga ang preparation, mas maaga ang ginagawa natin, ano man ang maging problema, madali naming uulitin ang nagawa na namin dapat,' Garcia added.
(In the meantime, we need to start with the procurement because that might take 2 to 3 months, depending on whether there will be a failure of bidding. We don't want that to happen so we are preparing as early as now.)
The barangay and SK elections is set on December 1, 2025.— AOL, GMA Integrated News
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