Posts falsely claim Philippine legislators approved postponement of village polls
- Published on August 13, 2026 at 10:36
- 2 min read
- By Ara EUGENIO, AFP Philippines
Philippine legislators filed a bill in late July to delay crucial village elections scheduled for November, but rumours online that the House of Representatives approved the measure in less than a week are false. The proposal is pending at the committee level as of August 13, 2026 and needs to clear several hurdles before it can become law.
"HOUSE APPROVES POSTPONEMENT OF 2026 BSKE," reads a Facebook post shared August 4.
The Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE), scheduled for November 2, are nationwide polls held every four years to elect officials for the Southeast Asian archipelago's smallest local government units -- as well as members of youth councils.
The positions are hotly contested because they are used by political parties to cultivate grassroots networks and build a support base for local and general elections.
The false Facebook post adds the House approved the postponement to the last Monday of November 2028, supposedly citing rising fuel costs, earthquake-damaged schools and election expenses.
The post surfaced days after a bill seeking to postpone the village polls by two years was filed in the House of Representatives on July 29. A similar proposal was filed in the Senate (archived here and here).
Village elections were delayed under former leader Rodrigo Duterte and early in the term of President Ferdinand Marcos on the grounds the government could not afford them.
The most recent vote held in October 2023 saw politicians vying for more than 336,000 council positions (archived link).
Similar posts claiming the House already approved the measure pushing back the November polls circulated on Facebook, drawing comments from users who believed the claim.
"They are out of their mind," one user wrote. Another said: "Postponed so they can steal money again."
'Not true'
However, a review of congressional records found the bill remains "pending with the Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms".
Cheloy Garafil, secretary general of the House of Representatives, told AFP on August 7 the circulating posts are "not true" as the bill is only at an early stage.
Under the Philippine legislative process, a bill must undergo a committee hearing and three readings at the House of Representatives and the Senate before it can be signed into law by the president.
If the chambers approve different versions of the proposal, they need to reconcile the versions, according to lawyer and former elections commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal (archived link).
On claims that the elections are being postponed because they are too expensive, Larrazabal said a portion of the funds had already been spent.
"Part of it has already been used for training, ballot printing, procurement of supplies and other necessary activities in preparation for the barangay elections," he told AFP on August 6.
"The government may end up spending more if you move the elections to November 2028."
Responding to the bills filed in Congress, presidential spokesperson Claire Castro said during a daily press briefing on August 11 that Marcos would need to review the proposal and its justification before taking a position on it (archived link).
The passage of bills could be expedited if they are certified as urgent by the president.
AFP has fact-checked other misinformation related to the Philippine elections.
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