Congress has approved proposed bills postponing the December 2022 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections to October 2023.

Both the House and the Senate ratified the bicameral conference committee reports of the proposal, paving the way for consolidation of the House and Senate versions of the bills that can now be sent to President Marcos for signature.

According to a press release from the House, the bicameral conference panels of the House and the Senate met to harmonize the disagreeing provisions of House Bill (HB) No. 4673 and Senate Bill (SB) No. 1306, which both sought the postponement of the barangay and SK elections.

"The version of the bill approved by the House set the next barangay and SK elections on the first Monday of December 2023 while the Senate version slated it for the second Monday of December 2023. Instead of holding the elections on December 2023, the bicameral conference committee reached a consensus to reschedule the barangay and SK polls two months earlier, or on October 2023," the statement said.

The same press release said the harmonized version of the bill provides that “there shall be a synchronized barangay and sangguniang kabataan elections, which shall be held on the last Monday of October 2023 and every three years thereafter.”

"The term of office of officials elected in the 2023 barangay and SK elections shall commence at noon of November 30 next following their election. As a necessary consequence of the postponement, the measure contained a hold-over provision. It stated that “until their successors shall have been duly elected and qualified, all incumbent barangay and SK official shall remain in office unless sooner removed or suspended for cause," the statement read

"Likewise, such officials serving as ex officio members of the sangguniang bayan, sangguniang panglungsod, or sangguniang panlalawigan shall continue to serve in such capacity until the next barangay and SK elections, unless removed in accordance with existing rules or for cause," it added.

"Funds necessary for the implementation of the law postponing the barangay and SK elections shall be taken from the appropriations of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) or supplementary appropriations that Congress may subsequently approve," the press release also said.