THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) earlier reported that it was ready for the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) on Oct. 30, 2023. Hopefully, there will be no last-minute decisions to postpone the electoral exercise. After all, the Supreme Court has declared Republic Act 11935, or 'An Act Postponing the December 2022 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, Amending for the Purpose Republic Act 9164, as amended, Appropriating Funds therefor, and for Other Purposes,' unconstitutional.

Responding to the proposal by the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms to automate the BSKE, the Comelec will pilot the use of the automated election system (AES) in the 2023 BSKE. It is hoped that the results of the election will be faster and that winners will be proclaimed earlier with the automation of the BSKE.