Comelec: Winners in BSKE may immediately assume post

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday said winning candidates in the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) may immediately assume their won posts provided they complete the required process.

In a four-page letter sent to the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Comelec – Law Department head Maria Norina Casingal said winning BSKE bets may “immediately and effectively assume office” in accordance with the ruling of the Supreme Court (SC) on the constitutionality of Republic Act No. 11935, or the law that postponed the BSKE from December 2022 to October this year.

“Enunciated by the Supreme Court in Item (3) of the Decision dated June 27, 2023, particularly that the sitting and incumbent BSK officials shall continue to hold office until their successor shall have been elected and qualified,” said Casingal.

“Therefore, applying these discussions to your inquiry, if the candidate for the October 30, 2023 BSKE obtained the highest number of votes among the remaining candidates for the same position in the same barangay, and later on proclaimed, and subsequently took his or her oath of office, the said candidate, now referred to as the winning candidate and/or newly elected official, may immediately and effectively assume office,” Casingal said.

The Comelec official, however, stressed that the winning candidates must also comply with the requirements to file their Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) before they will be allowed to assume their posts.

“Under Section 14 of RA No. 7166, no person elected to any public office shall enter upon the duties of his or her office until he or she has filed the SOCE within 30 days after the day of the election,” said Casingal.

She explained that the Comelec’s position is in accordance with the SC’s ruling that the term of office of the sitting and incumbent BSK officials ended on December 31, 2022 as provided under Republic Act No. 11462.

“At present, the sitting and incumbent BSK officials continue to hold office under a hold-over capacity,” she added.

The letter to the DILG was sent in response to the inquiry of the latter on the exact period of the assumption of newly elected