MANILA – Presidential aspirant Bongbong Marcos Jr. on Saturday vowed to push for a five-year term for barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials should he win in the May 2022 polls.

Speaking before the barangay leaders and health workers of Parañaque City, Marcos said he is not in favor of the postponement of barangay elections.

“[H]uwag na tayong extend nang extend, postpone nang postpone, palitan na natin ‘yong batas para ang termino ng barangay official ay limang taon na at three-term limit (Let’s stop postponing and extending, let’s just amend the law so that the term of barangay officials would become five years with a three-term limit),” he said in a speech.

Marcos Jr. said this would allow the officials to continue and implement more efficiently their existing programs.

Barangay is the smallest political unit in the country where officials are elected to three-year terms.

In 2019, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act 11462 or the postponement of the May 2020 barangay and SK elections to December 2022.

Under the law, village elections after the December 2022 vote will subsequently take place on the first Monday of December 2025 and every three years thereafter. (PNA)