The fate of the next Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) is up to lawmakers, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Friday.

Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia made the remark following calls for the deferment of the Dec. 1, 2025 polls.

“The fixing of the date of election is an absolute discretion of Congress, so long as it complies with the guidelines/criteria laid down by the Supreme Court in case of postponement and resetting,” he said in a phone interview.

Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte filed House Bill 10344 seeking to move the village and youth polls to Oct. 26, 2026.

In filing the bill, the Bicol lawmaker said moving the BSKE to a later date is necessary as the current village and youth officials will only serve for two years, instead of three, if the polls will push through next year.

The poll body chief said it can only act on the measure once it is signed into law by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

Meanwhile, Garcia said they will continue with their preparations for the polls scheduled late next year.

“We will prepare to conduct the BSKE in 2025. Our preparations cannot be slowed by a mere possibility or speculation,” he said.

The last BSKE was held in October 2023. (PNA)