Namfrel urges Congress to bar term extensions for sitting officials

The National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) urged Congress to apply any future change in barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) terms only to officials elected after that change, following the Supreme Court decision upholding Republic Act No. 12326.

In a statement dated Nov. 9, 2026, the election watchdog also called on lawmakers to hold to the November 2028 election date without further postponement.

RA 12326 fixes the term of barangay and SK officials at five years and moves the next Barangay and SK Elections (BSKE) from Nov. 2, 2026, to November 2028.

“We respect the Supreme Court’s ruling, but we will continue to defend the people’s right to regular, credible, and meaningful elections and to hold public officials accountable between elections,” the group said.

Namfrel said the Constitution leaves the length of the barangay term to Congress, and a longer term may well serve the continuity and planning goals the law describes.

“Our concern is not the length of the term. It is how the term was lengthened. Congress may set a term, but only the voters can grant a mandate,” it said.

The group noted that the ruling was not unanimous.

“The decision deserves respect. But it was not unanimous, and it leaves some of the strongest objections from within the Court unanswered,” it said.

Namfrel cited Justice Leonen, who was joined by Justices Hernando and Rosario and who accepted the power of Congress to fix the barangay term.

According to the statement, Leonen reasoned that officials hold office by right only for the term the voters conferred, and that years added later are held “by the statute alone.”

Leonen also warned that successive extensions can together defer the vote unconstitutionally, the group said.

He further noted that young Filipinos who age out of SK eligibility before 2028 lose their chance to vote for SK officials for good, it added.

Namfrel also cited Justice Kho, who was joined by Justice Caguioa.

The group said Kho showed that Congress could have adopted the new term while holding the 2026 elections as scheduled.

Kho also showed that the 2028 cycle creates the very overlap with national elections the law claimed to avoid, according to the statement.

“The majority did not squarely address these points. Upholding Congress’s power to fix a term is one thing; answering why voters had to wait, and what the wait costs them, is another,” Namfrel said.

“The Court has settled the law. It has not exhausted the ways the right to suffrage can be protected,” it added.

The group said Congress does not need to wait for another court case to act.

“It can apply any future change in the barangay and SK term only to officials elected after that change, so that no term is ever lengthened for those already in office,” it said.

Namfrel said it will keep watching, informing, and holding officials accountable alongside the Filipino people until the next ballot is cast.