Nearly 8 in 10 Filipinos want BSKE held in November

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

MANILA — Nearly eight in 10 Filipino adults want the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections to proceed as scheduled in November 2026, according to the August 2026 issue of The National Momentum Survey by Momentum Research.

Only about one in 10 believe the polls should be postponed again.

The survey, which was not commissioned by any client, found that 78.9 percent of Filipino adults believe the elections should push through as scheduled, compared with 11.8 percent who say the exercise should once again be deferred.

Another 6.2 percent said they do not have enough knowledge about the issue to take a position, while 2.8 percent were unsure. Only 0.3 percent refused to answer.

The findings come as lawmakers renew efforts to move the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, or BSKE, for a second time.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. signed Republic Act No. 12232 on Aug. 13, 2025, moving the polls originally set for Dec. 1, 2025, to the first Monday of November 2026 and scheduling subsequent elections every four years. The same law raised the term of barangay and SK officials from three years to four.

The Supreme Court upheld the law on Nov. 11, 2025, denying consolidated petitions that questioned its constitutionality. In a decision written by Associate Justice Jhosep Lopez, the court held that the Constitution grants Congress the authority to set the term of barangay officials, who are not bound by the three-year limit that applies to other elective local officials.

Roughly a year after that law took effect, the Senate Committee on Local Government approved two measures on Aug. 24 that would push the polls back again.

Senate Bill No. 2067, filed by Sen. Imee Marcos, would move the elections from Nov. 2, 2026, to October 2027. She has cited the cost of election-day travel to the provinces and the fact that Nov. 2 falls on All Souls’ Day.

Senate Bill No. 2387, filed by committee chairman Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, would fix the term of barangay and SK officials at five years rather than four, an effect that would likewise defer the polls.

The survey fieldwork closed on Aug. 23, one day before the committee acted, meaning respondents were not reacting to the panel’s approval.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia told senators that roughly PHP 3 billion of the PHP 8 billion already spent, obligated, or earmarked for the 2026 BSKE would be unrecoverable if the elections are moved, although most materials could still be reused. The 2026 exercise carries an allocation of PHP 19.57 billion, nearly double the usual cost of a barangay election.

Garcia has asked Congress to settle the question by September, ahead of the filing of certificates of candidacy.

Calls for postponement remain relatively low across regions, but they are most pronounced in Metro Manila, where 18 percent of Filipino adults say the BSKE should be moved again.

Large majorities in every region favor holding the elections on Nov. 2, including 81.7 percent in the Visayas, 79.4 percent in the rest of Luzon, 79 percent in Mindanao, and 73.2 percent in Metro Manila.

Support for another postponement stands at 12.5 percent in the Visayas, 10.8 percent in the rest of Luzon, and 9.7 percent in Mindanao.

Respondents who said they lacked sufficient knowledge of the issue accounted for 7.5 percent in Mindanao, 6.3 percent in the rest of Luzon, 6 percent in Metro Manila, and 4.5 percent in the Visayas.

Those who were unsure made up 3.6 percent in Mindanao, 3.3 percent in the rest of Luzon, 1.9 percent in Metro Manila, and 1.3 percent in the Visayas. Refusals reached 0.9 percent in Metro Manila, 0.3 percent in Mindanao, 0.2 percent in the rest of Luzon, and zero in the Visayas.

Across political lines

The preference cuts across political lines, with majorities in all four factions in favor of proceeding with the BSKE this year.

Support for holding the elections is highest among pro-Duterte respondents at 83.3 percent, followed by pro-Marcos respondents at 82.2 percent and pro-opposition respondents at 82 percent. Among independents, 76 percent say the elections should no longer be postponed.

Independents are the most open to another delay, at 14.2 percent. Pro-Duterte respondents follow at 10.8 percent, pro-opposition at 10.1 percent, and pro-Marcos at 9.8 percent.

Independents also posted the largest share of respondents who said they lacked knowledge of the issue at 7.6 percent, followed by pro-opposition at 7.5 percent, pro-Marcos at 5.7 percent, and pro-Duterte at 3.4 percent.

Uncertainty was highest among pro-Duterte respondents at 2.6 percent, followed by pro-Marcos at 2.3 percent, independents at 2.1 percent, and pro-opposition at 0.4 percent. Only independents registered refusals, at 0.2 percent.

Momentum Research defines pro-opposition adult Filipinos as those who align themselves with former Vice President Leni Robredo, Sens. Risa Hontiveros and Bam Aquino, and their allies.

Generational split

Differences across generations were modest.

Support for holding the elections as scheduled is highest among millennials at 82.1 percent and Gen Z at 80.7 percent, followed by Gen X at 74.5 percent and baby boomers and the Silent Generation at 73.5 percent.

Older generations are slightly more likely to favor another postponement. About one in six Gen X Filipinos, or 17 percent, say the BSKE should be moved again, while 13.1 percent of baby boomers and members of the Silent Generation favor another delay.

That compares with 10.4 percent of Gen Z and 9.4 percent of millennials who support postponement.

Respondents who said they did not know enough about the issue reached 9.5 percent among baby boomers and the Silent Generation, 6.5 percent among Gen Z, 5.5 percent among millennials, and 4.7 percent among Gen X.

Those who were unsure or refused to answer accounted for 3.9 percent of baby boomers and the Silent Generation, 3.8 percent of Gen X, 3 percent of millennials, and 2.4 percent of Gen Z.

The last barangay and SK elections were held on Oct. 30, 2023.

Those polls were themselves the product of repeated delays. The village elections set for Oct. 31, 2016, were moved twice before finally being held on May 14, 2018, and the May 2020 edition was pushed to December 2022 and then to October 2023.

The National Momentum Survey was conducted from Aug. 18 to 23 through face-to-face interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,487 Filipino adults. It carries a national margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

Subnational margins of error are plus or minus 6.9 percentage points for the National Capital Region, plus or minus 3.8 points for the rest of Luzon covering North, South, and Central Luzon, plus or minus 5.8 points for the Visayas, and plus or minus 5.5 points for Mindanao, all at a 95 percent confidence level.

The August 2026 issue of the survey covers perspectives, attitudes, and behaviors on government performance, the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, 2028 national elections voting intentions, and national issues including Pax Silica, systems loss in the power sector, minimum wage, the BSKE, and school-related violence.