MANILA, Philippines — Veteran election lawyer Atty. Romulo Macalintal filed an electronic petition with the Supreme Court on Sunday, September 27, seeking to declare unconstitutional Republic Act No. 12326.
Signed into law by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on September 24, RA 12326 postpones the November 2 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) to the second Monday of November 2028, extending the tenure of current local leaders and establishing a five-year term cycle moving forward.
Macalintal, alongside co-signatories Antonio Carlos Bautista, James Kenneth Adolor, and William Kyle Santos, requested that the high court issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) or a status quo ante order (SQAO) to halt the law’s enforcement. The petition urges the court to direct the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to proceed with organizing the November 2 polls.
Should time constraints render that date unfeasible, the petition requests that voting be conducted on a date closely following November 2.
Because the Supreme Court is currently observing a month-long decision-writing recess through September 30 without scheduled division or full-court sessions, Macalintal petitioned for an immediate special raffle to address the requested injunctive reliefs.
The petition names the Office of the President through the Executive Secretary, the Senate, the House of Representatives, and COMELEC as respondents.
Macalintal underscored that the BSKE was originally set for December 2025 before being pushed to November 2026, granting incumbent officials an initial one-year extension.
”This initial delay gave incumbent officials a one-year term extension. The new law pushes the elections further to November 2028, adding another two years to their terms. This results in a cumulative three-year extension for current officials and a three-year denial of the public’s right to vote,” Macalintal stressed.
The petition asserts that while Congress holds the authority to fix official term lengths, that power does not encompass extending current terms or delaying scheduled elections indefinitely.
Citing previous Supreme Court rulings, Macalintal argued that election delays must not be unreasonable or excessively long, while also criticizing the rapid enactment and publication of RA 12326 immediately following its signing.
Additionally, the filing argues that the law violates the constitutional mandate requiring every statute to embrace a single subject expressed in its title, asserting that the stated title acts merely as a device for delay.
”Thus, the November 2026 BSKE may not be postponed on the pretext of fixing the term of office of BSK officials. The reasons in support of RA No. 12326 are unfortunately superficial and farcical, falling within what this Honorable Court has described as insufficient to justify the postponement of an election,” Macalintal said.
He contended that any adjustment to term lengths must apply prospectively rather than retroactively to benefit candidates elected in the scheduled November 2026 polls.
”Hence, Petitioner respectfully seeks this Honorable Court to exercise its inherent authority to issue the injunctive reliefs prayed for herein so as to preserve the exercise of its jurisdiction and ensure that its judgment will not be a mere paper victory. After all, what is sought to be restrained is the perpetration of patently unconstitutional acts that adversely affect the discharge of governmental functions and the very foundations of democracy and republicanism,” he added.
The petition also targets the law’s transitory provisions, contending that a failure to distinguish between “term of office” and “tenure of office” unconstitutionally deprives incumbents of eligibility for future terms.
Macalintal warned that failure to enjoin the law will cause irreparable damage by forcing citizens to be governed for two additional years by leaders operating without a fresh democratic mandate.