Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials will now serve five-year terms, lengthening the election cycle for the country’s most local elective posts while retaining limits on consecutive terms. 

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Republic Act No. 12326 into law on September 24, extending the term of office from three to five years, beginning at noon on November 30 following the election, and scheduling the next regular barangay and SK elections on the second Monday of November 2028 and every five years thereafter.

Under the law, elected barangay officials may serve no more than two consecutive terms in the same position, while elected SK officials may serve only one term. Voluntary renunciation will not interrupt the continuity of service for purposes of computing a full term. 

Incumbent elected barangay officials, whose terms are extended by two years, will be considered to have served one full term for purposes of the term limit. 

The extension does not shield incumbent officials from administrative, civil or criminal investigations or liabilities, or from orders by a court or competent authority preventing them from continuing in office. 

The law allows vacancies in SK membership to be filled through appointment by the city or municipal mayor from among persons who meet the qualifications under the Sangguniang Kabataan Reform Act of 2015, while vacancies in the SK chairperson position remain subject to existing succession rules. 

RA 12326 further requires the Department of the Interior and Local Government to lead continuing training and capacity-building programs for barangay and SK officials throughout their five-year terms, in coordination with other government agencies. 

Meanwhile, unspent appropriations for the barangay and SK elections will remain available to the Commission on Elections as continuing appropriations for preparations for the 2028 national and local elections and other lawful expenditures. 

The law takes effect immediately after publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation. 

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