• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Negros Occidental will continue its full preparations for the 2026 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) unless a law postponing the polls is enacted, Provincial Election Supervisor Ian Lee Ananoria said on Wednesday, Aug. 5.
Ananoria stressed that the Comelec is bound by its legal mandate to proceed with all election preparations despite pending bills in Congress seeking to defer the BSKE.
One of the proponents, Negros Occidental Third District Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez, has pushed moving the elections to November 2028, saying government resources should be prioritized to address the declared National State of Energy Emergency.
“As long as there is no law passed, we will continue our preparations,” Ananoria said.
He explained that the proposed measures to postpone the elections must still undergo the legislative process, including approval on first to third readings, passage by both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and the President’s signature before becoming a law.
Ananoria said the Comelec has already made significant preparations for the scheduled polls, including the production of ballots and other election materials. Since the BSKE will be conducted manually, the ballots could still be used if the elections are reset to a later date, he added.
The filing of certificates of candidacy for the BSKE is scheduled on Aug. 28. However, Ananoria pointed out that Nov. 2 remains the crucial reckoning date.
“If there is no law by Nov. 2, I think the elections will continue. If a law is passed before that, then the elections will be postponed,” he said.
Ananoria also said the Comelec is prepared should Congress decide to synchronize the barangay, SK, local and national elections although he acknowledged that holding all elections on the same day would be difficult.
Negros Occidental has about 2.7 million registered voters for the BSKE, making it the fourth or fifth largest voting province in the country. | GPB
