• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
It’s all systems go for the 2025 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) on Dec. 1.
Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Erwin Garcia, who is in Negros Island Region for a four-day post-election assessment, said on Monday, June 9, that there is no indication from Congress that it will postpone the BSKE 2025 polls.
Stressing that they have been ready for it since last year, Garcia said they are now 55 percent in their preparations for the holding of the BSKE, which is a month after the Bangsamoro parliamentary elections also in October this year.
“Without preempting the action of Congress, I honestly believe that the December BSKE will proceed as scheduled,” the Comelec chairman said.
“We were informed by our reliable sources that Congress is about to finalize the final version of a bill, which contains a provision that the Dec. 1 elections will likely proceed,” Garcia added.
The term of elected barangay and SK officials being discussed now is a fixed term of four years instead of three years, subject to one reelection, he said.
Garcia though raised the possibility that there could be changes once it will reach the bicameral committee.
Unlike in the recently concluded May 12 elections, the conduct of BSKE 2025 elections will be done manually.
Comelec set the voter registration on July 1 to 11, with the filing of certificates of candidacy slated Oct. 1 to 7.
Garcia said they are targeting one million new registered voters in the BSKE 2025 polls as 15 to 17 years old will register to vote for their SK candidates.
Once the candidates file their certification, they are prohibited from campaigning before Nov. 25 to 29, which is the campaign period.
While local officials are allowed to campaign during the campaign period, they are not allowed to use municipal or city resources, otherwise, they will face charges, Garcia further said.
He also announced that teachers, who will serve as electoral board members, will receive a honoraria between P8,000 and P10,000, which is much lesser than what they received during the May 12 elections. | GB
