THE sooner the Supreme Court decides on Republic Act (RA) 11935, the better for everyone since the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has already issued Resolution 10899, or the Calendar of Activities for the October 30 synchronized barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, specifying the time for filing of certificates of candidacy (CoCs), campaign period, voting period and other related matters. A petition for certiorari was made before the Supreme Court to declare unconstitutional RA 11935, which postponed the December 2022 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).
According to an election lawyer, the Constitution does not give Congress the power to "postpone" the barangay elections nor to "extend the term of office of the barangay officials." The power to postpone elections rests solely within the jurisdiction of the Comelec after it determined serious cases provided by Section 5 of the Omnibus Election Code. "Thus, by enacting a law postponing scheduled barangay elections, Congress is in effect executing said provision of the OEC or has overstepped its constitutional boundaries and assumed a function that is reserved to the Comelec." Further, "the questioned law gives Congress the power to appoint barangay officials whose term, as provided by RA 11462 will expire on December 31, 2022. What Congress did is to make a 'legislative appointment' of these barangay officials when the law allows them to remain in office as holdover officials."
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