President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed into law a measure fixing the term of office of Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials to five years, allowing incumbent officers to continue serving the public and working for their communities.
President Marcos signed Republic Act No. 12326, or an “Act Fixing the Term of Office of Barangay Officials and Members of the Sangguniang Kabataan to Five (5) years, amending Republic Act No. 12232 or An Act Setting the Term of Office of Barangay Officials and Members of the Sangguniang Kabataan, and For other purposes.”
Republic Act No. 12326 amended Section 1 of R.A. No. 12232, setting the term of office of all elected barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials to five years.
Under this section, no elective barangay official shall serve for more than two consecutive terms in the same position and no elective SK official shall serve for more than one term in the same position.
Section 2 of R.A. No. 12232 was also amended, which set the next regular barangay and SK elections to be held on the second Monday of November 2028 and every five years thereafter.
A new Section 4-A was inserted for filling vacancies in SK membership.
It stated that a vacancy in the SK membership shall be filled through the appointment by the city or municipal mayor with jurisdiction over the barangay of the concerned SK of any person who meets the qualifications provided under Section 10 of Republic Act No. 10742 or the Sangguniang Kabataan Reform Act of 2015.
The measure also added a new Section 4-B, to institutionalize continuing training and capacity-building programs for barangay officials and SK members to strengthen their capacity to perform their duties and responsibilities.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will spearhead the trainings, in coordination with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Commission on Elections (COMELEC), state universities and colleges (SUCs), and other appropriate government agencies.
Section 5 of Republic Act No. 12232 was also amended, stating “Considering the extension of their terms by two years, incumbent elective barangay officials shall be regarded as having completed one term in their respective positions.”
This makes incumbent officials serving their last term in the same position ineligible to run for the same position in the November 2028 Barangay and SK elections.
As to the limitation during the transition period, the new law states that incumbent officials are not exempted from pending and future investigations concerning administrative, civil, or criminal cases or liabilities against them.
