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Barangay elections are elections in the Philippines in the barangays, the smallest of the administrative divisions in the Philippines. Barangays make up cities and municipalities and in turn are made up of sitios and puroks, whose leaders are not elected. Voters of each barangay over 18 years old are eligible to vote for one barangay captain and seven barangay councilors. Together, the barangay captain and barangay councilors make up the Sangguniang Barangay (barangay council). Voters aged 15 to 30 years old vote in elections for the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK): one SK chairperson and seven SK councilors during the same election. The winning SK chairperson serves as a member of the barangay council.

Barangay captains and SK chairmen are elected via first-past-the-post voting system, while barangay and SK councilors are elected via the plurality-at-large voting system with one barangay as an at-large "district".

While candidates are nominally nonpartisan and do not represent political parties, slates consisting of a candidate for a barangay captain and seven barangay councilor candidates are not uncommon; SK slates are also sometimes connected to a slate of a barangay captain. Winning candidates serve for a term of three years, with reelection of up to two more times. Terms of office for barangay officials are usually extended when elections are postponed as a cost-saving measure.

Winning barangay captains in a certain municipality or city elect amongst themselves an Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) president that will serve as their representative in the Sangguniang Bayan (municipal council) or Sangguniang Panlungsod (city council). ABC presidents in a certain province will elect amongst their representative in the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (provincial board). ABC presidents in provincial boards and city councils not under a jurisdiction of a province elect amongst themselves a national president and other officials of the League of Barangays of the Philippines.

SK chairmen undergo a similar series of indirect elections at every level, although there is no national leadership at the beginning of 2018.

History

In a 1981 referendum, the electorate was asked if barangay elections should be done after the concurrently-held presidential election; the electorate carried the proposal. The Barangay Election Act of 1982 prescribed that the election shall be on May 17, 1982, terms start on June 7, and that terms shall be for six years.

Postponing barangay elections was done several times despite the 1987 Constitution and special laws like the Local Government Code of 1991 but in 2023, the Supreme Court held that the succeeding synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) shall be held on the first Monday of December 2025, and every three (3) years thereafter, pursuant to Republic Act No. 11462. The SC Public Information Office added: "More significantly, the said Decision laid down the criteria to serve as guidelines and principles for the bench, the bar, and the public as regards any government action that seeks to postpone any elections."[1]

According to law expert Michael Henry Yusingco, political dynasties continue to victimize barangay elections, the latest results of which made genuine political competition impossible.[2][3]

Elections since 1982

Sangguniang Barangay
Date Law Term Status Total barangays Turnout[4]
Years Started Total %
May 17, 1982 BP 222 6 June 7, 1982 Completed 19,302,910 66.35%
May 9, 1988 RA 6653 5 January 1, 1989 Postponed to November 1988 —
November 14, 1988 RA 6679 — Postponed to 1989 —
March 28, 1989 May 1, 1989 Completed ~42,000 18,876,334 67.50%
May 9, 1994 RA 7160 3 May 9, 1994 Completed ~42,000 22,670,532 64.75%
May 12, 1997 RA 8524 5 May 12, 1997 Completed ~42,000 24,322,413 63.78%
July 15, 2002 RA 9164 3 August 15, 2002 Completed ~42,000 26,533,451 70.30%
October 31, 2005 RA 9340 — Postponed to 2007 41,995 —
October 29, 2007 November 30, 2007 Completed 31,979,309 68.14%
October 25, 2010 November 30, 2010 Completed 42,095 34,154,174 70.80%
October 28, 2013 November 30, 2013 Completed 42,028 38,721,421 72.11%
October 30, 2016 RA 10923 — Postponed to 2017 41,948 —
October 29, 2017 RA 10952 — Postponed to 2018 —
May 14, 2018 June 30, 2018 Completed 39,977,516 69.67%
May 12, 2020 RA 11462 — Postponed to 2022 42,001 —
December 5, 2022 — Postponed to 2023 —
October 30, 2023 RA 11935
GR 263590 		January 1, 2023 Completed To be determined
November 17, 2025 RA 11462 January 1, 2026 Scheduled
Sangguniang Kabataan
Date Law Term Age range Status Synched with
barangay
elections? 		Total barangays Turnout[5]
Years Started Total %
December 4, 1992 RA 7160 3 15–21 Completed No ~42,000 3,227,926 77.20%
May 9, 1994 RA 7808 — Postponed to 1996 — ~42,000 —
May 6, 1996 Completed No ~42,000 3,340,926 77.89%
May 9, 2001 RA 8524 5 — Postponed to 2002 — ~42,000 —
July 15, 2002 RA 9164 3 August 15, 2002 15–18 Completed Yes ~42,000 1,980,829 77.37%
October 31, 2005 RA 9340 — Postponed to 2007 — 41,995 —
October 29, 2007 November 30, 2007 Completed Yes 41,995 2,542,408 85.29%
October 25, 2010 November 30, 2010 Completed Yes 42,095 2,101,405 90.54%
October 28, 2013 RA 10632 — Postponed up to 2015 Yes 42,028 —
October 30, 2016 RA 10656 — Postponed to 2017 — 41,948 —
October 29, 2017 RA 10742 — 15–30 Postponed to 2018 — 41,948 —
May 14, 2018 June 30, 2018 Completed Yes 41,948 13,529,267 65.51%
May 12, 2020 RA 11462 — Postponed to 2022 — 42,001 —
December 5, 2022 — Postponed to 2023 — —
October 30, 2023 RA 11935
GR 263590 		January 1, 2023 Completed Yes To be determined
November 17, 2025 RA 11462 January 1, 2026 Scheduled Yes

Indirect elections

Barangay captain

Barangay captainBarangay captainBarangay captain
Municipal chapterComponent city chapterHighly urbanized
or
independent component
city chapter
Provincial chapter
National chapter

SK chairperson

SK chairpersonSK chairpersonSK chairperson
Municipal chapterComponent city chapterHighly urbanized
or
independent component
city chapter
Provincial chapter

See also

References

  1. ^ "SC Denies the Office of the Solicitor General's Motion for Reconsideration from the Declaration of Unconstitutionality of Republic Act No. 11935". Supreme Court of the Philippines. October 24, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  2. ^ "Barangay Assembly: A Citizen-Led Reinvigoration of Political Discourse and Civic Engagement in the Philippines". Ateneo.edu. July 31, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  3. ^ "How political dynasties undermine local governance in the Philippines". Asian Studies Association of Australia. September 24, 2015. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  4. ^ "COMPARATIVE STATISTICS ON TOTAL NO. OF REGISTERED VOTERS (1982 TO 2022 BARANGAY ELECTIONS)" (PDF). [[Commission on Elections (Philippines)|]]. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  5. ^ "COMPARATIVE STATISTICS ON TOTAL NO. OF REGISTERED VOTERS (1992 TO 2022 SANGGUNIANG KABATAAN (SK) ELECTIONS)" (PDF). [[Commission on Elections (Philippines)|]]. Retrieved October 30, 2023.

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Local elections and plebiscites in the Philippines
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