Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian. Photo courtesy of Senate of the Philippines.
Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian on Wednesday urged government agencies to show empirical evidence that extending the terms of barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials from four to five years would actually improve governance and public services.
His call came as lawmakers considered proposals to lengthen the terms of barangay and SK officials.
Sen. Francis Escudero is among those pushing the change through Senate Bill No. 2387, which seeks to fix their term at five years and establish a regular election cycle instead of repeatedly postponing the polls.
“At the end of the day, it should improve governance both with the barangay and also with the SK,” Gatchalian said during a recent Senate hearing on the proposed term extension.
Gatchalian specifically asked the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the National Youth Commission (NYC) to provide studies showing whether an additional year in office could produce measurable gains in public health, peace and order, anti-drug programs and youth development.
He acknowledged that effective barangay officials could benefit from a longer tenure because it would give them more time to carry out programs and policies.
“Ang mahabang termino sa magagaling na kapitan, okay ‘yun. Pero ang mahabang termino sa bulok na kapitan, may problema tayo sa ating mga constituents,” he said.
“We need to demonstrate to our voters that the increase in term will benefit them and improve governance, service delivery, and the training of our youth,” Gatchalian added.
The current four-year term was set under Republic Act No. 12232, which was signed into law in August 2025. The law also scheduled the next regular barangay and SK elections in November 2026, while the five-year proposal now under consideration would again change the election cycle.