President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that he will officially sign a new law that will move the 2025 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) to a later date.
“I’ll sign it,” Marcos firmly said during a media forum in Bengaluru, India, when reporters asked if he would sign the bill or just let it become law without his signature.
Marcos explained that right now, the country needs to focus all attention on another important election — the first-ever parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) this coming October.
He reminded everyone that just a few months ago, the Philippines already held a big midterm national and local election in May. But the BARMM elections are different — they are historic.
“You have to remember,” Marcos said, “the BARMM election in October will be the first time in the history of the Philippines that people will choose their own BARMM Parliament. This has never happened before.”
Marcos warned that if the BARMM elections fail, it would be a huge setback for the peace process in Mindanao.
“If that election fails, it will be a big, big failure for peace. That’s why we must make sure the BARMM election will succeed,” he stressed.
Earlier, Commission on Elections (COMELEC) chairperson George Garcia revealed that Malacañang had already informed them that Marcos would sign the law on Tuesday, August 12.
Originally, the 2025 BSKE was scheduled for December 1, 2025. But in June, Congress approved a plan to extend the term of barangay and SK officials from three years to four years. Along with this change, the elections will now be moved to the first Monday of November 2026.
With this decision, barangay and SK officials will serve longer, and the government can focus on making sure the historic BARMM elections go smoothly.
