The
2023 Philippine barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections were originally scheduled to be held on 2022 but were postponed to October 2023 with subsequent elections held in three-year intervals; this meant that after the 2023 elections, the next would have been held in 2026. A Supreme Court decision in June 2023 declared the law postponing the election to 2023 to be unconstitutional but still ordered the 2023 elections to continue, with the next elections in 2025, then every three years thereafter.
Postponement to 2026 In June 2024, the
Commission on Elections said it will benefit the commission if the barangay elections were postponed to 2026, to prevent the barangay elections being held on the same year as the
general election. Speaker
Martin Romualdez filed a bill proposing a six-year term for barangay officials, for a maximum of two consecutive terms, with current officials' terms extended to 2029. In November 2024, Senator
Imee Marcos sponsored a bill postponing the election to 2029, then every six years thereafter. Marcos explained that a longer term shall give barangay officials to "deepen their understanding of both national and local issues, as well as implement their own medium- and long-term initiatives," aside from the fact that the barangay elections "will never coincide with the national and local elections". An updated Senate bill saw barangay officials terms set to four years, with the officials elected in 2023 serving until 2027, and in holdover capacity from 2025 onwards. A House bill has barangay officials' terms set to six years, with barangay incumbents serving until 2029. House representative Ma. Victoria Co-Pilar from Quezon City sponsored the House bill. Romulo Macalintal, the same lawyer who successfully sued the constitutionality of the previous postponement law, and the Legal Network for Truthful Elections both opposed further postponements. On April 21, 2025, the commission released its calendar for the barangay elections, setting the date on December 1. By June 12, both chambers of Congress had ratified the bicameral conference committee version of setting barangay officials' terms to four years and up to two reelections, with SK officials' terms to four years with no reelection, and postponing the 2025 elections to November 2026. Because of the developments on the bill, the commission suspended voter registration, setting it from July to October after
2025 Bangsamoro Parliament election. In distinguishing Republic Act (RA) No. 11935, that law that was struck down as unconstitutional, to the bill awaiting the president's signature, Senator Imee Marcos said that RA 11935 extended the term of the incumbent when postponing the election to a later date, the current bill, aside from postponing the election, definitely set the term of office and term limits for barangay and SK officials. Macalintal countered that the bill extended "their tenure without a public mandate." By August, COMELEC chairman George Garcia said that they had been informed that President Marcos will sign the bill into law postponing the election on August 12, 2025. On August 14, President Marcos signed the bill into law, postponing the elections to November 2026, extending incumbents' terms up to that time, extending upcoming officials' terms to four years from three, with still two reelections, except for SK officials who have no reelection. Lawyer Romulo Macalintal, the same person who successfully sued to declare the prior postponement law as unconstitutional, sued anew for this law's unconstitutionality, arguing that the Supreme Court's requirements that there should be "important, substantial, or compelling reason" for the postponement was not followed. In November 2025, the Supreme Court dismissed Macalintal's petition, affirming the elections' postponement to December 2026.
Proposal to postpone to 2027 With inflation caused by the
2026 Iran war, House representative
Albee Benitez said on April 2026 that he will file a bill to postpone the election by six months. President Marcos said he is open to postponing the elections. The National Movement for Free Elections opposed further postponements. Senator
Win Gatchalian rejected postponing the election, saying that Congress cannot postpone elections at will. Meanwhile,
Erwin Tulfo supported the measure for practicality, while
JV Ejercito expressed caution if the Supreme Court will allow the "temporary suspension." A few days later, Senator
Imee Marcos filed a bill postponing the elections to October 2027, citing inflation, and the fact that the 2026 elections fall on
All Souls' Day.
Voter registration The commission scheduled
voter registration for this election from August 1 to 10, 2025. The COMELEC announced that 2.7 million people registered for the election, with 65% of those registering coming from the youth. The commission again opened voter registration starting on October 20, 2025, and will continue until May 18, 2026. == Statistics ==