Mideast crisis, inflation cited in bid to postpone village, SK polls

BACOLOD CITY–Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez (Negros Occidental, 3rd District) said he and 63 other lawmakers filed House Bill No. 10591 on Tuesday afternoon seeking to postpone the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) from Nov. 2, 2026, to the last Monday of November 2028.

The authors of the bill, in their explanatory note, said the proposed postponement is anchored on severe operational, economic, and logistical disruptions that directly threaten the conduct of a safe, honest, and credible nationwide election.

The proponents cited a global energy emergency fueled by Middle East conflicts that drove domestic diesel and gasoline prices to historic highs of Php172.90 and over Php100 per liter, respectively. 

READ: N. Samar solon seeks postponement of barangay, SK polls

Paired with June 2026 headline inflation reaching 6.4 percent—with transport costs surging 12.8 percent—the volatility has severely disrupted the cost baseline for election procurement and logistics, pushing costs beyond the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) earlier Php19 billion estimate.

Infrastructure damage from major earthquakes between late 2025 and mid-2026—including a magnitude 6.9 in Northern Cebu, a magnitude 7.4 in Davao Oriental, and a magnitude 7.8 in Southern Mindanao—also compromised thousands of public school classrooms serving as primary voting centers, they said.

Lawmakers further noted that deferring the BSKE relieves significant administrative strain on Comelec, teachers, and security forces ahead of the historic first regular Bangsamoro Parliamentary Election set for Sept. 14, 2026.

Addressing legal precedents, the authors emphasized that the bill complies with the strict standards set by the Supreme Court in Macalintal v. Comelec, which struck down previous postponement laws for lacking constitutional justification. 

Unlike prior deferrals, HB 10591 relies on verifiable public emergencies, maintains a fixed future election date, and does not grant incumbent barangay officials a new mandate beyond statutory holdover service, they said./coa