Barangay elections

Barangay elections are elections in the Philippines in the barangays, the smallest of the administrative divisions in the Philippines. Barangays make up cities and municipalities and in turn are made up of sitios and puroks, whose leaders are not elected. Voters of each barangay over 18 years old are eligible to vote for one barangay captain and seven barangay councilors. Together, the barangay captain and barangay councilors make up the Sangguniang Barangay (barangay council). Voters aged 15 to 30 years old vote in elections for the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK): one SK chairperson and seven SK councilors during the same election. The winning SK chairperson serves as a member of the barangay council.

Barangay captains and SK chairmen are elected via first-past-the-post voting system, while barangay and SK councilors are elected via the plurality-at-large voting system with one barangay as an at-large "district".

While candidates are nominally nonpartisan and do not represent political parties, slates consisting of a candidate for a barangay captain and seven barangay councilor candidates are not uncommon; SK slates are also sometimes connected to a slate of a barangay captain. Winning candidates serve for a term of three years, with reelection of up to two more times. Terms of office for barangay officials are usually extended when elections are postponed as a cost-saving measure.

Winning barangay captains in a certain municipality or city elect amongst themselves an Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) president that will serve as their representative in the Sangguniang Bayan (municipal council) or Sangguniang Panlungsod (city council). ABC presidents in a certain province will elect amongst their representative in the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (provincial board). ABC presidents in provincial boards and city councils not under a jurisdiction of a province elect amongst themselves a national president and other officials of the League of Barangays of the Philippines.

SK chairmen undergo a similar series of indirect elections at every level, although there is no national leadership at the beginning of 2018.

History

In a 1981 referendum, the electorate was asked if barangay elections should be done after the concurrently-held presidential election; the electorate carried the proposal. The Barangay Election Act of 1982 prescribed that the election shall be on May 17, 1982, terms start on June 7, and that terms shall be for six years.

Elections since 1982

Sangguniang Barangay
Date	Law	Term		Status	Total barangays	Turnout	Details
Date	Law	Years	Started	Status	Total barangays	Turnout	Details
May 17, 1982	BP 222	6	June 7, 1982	Completed			Details
May 9, 1988	RA 6653	5	January 1, 1989	Postponed to November 1988		—	Details
November 14, 1988	RA 6679		May 1, 1989	Postponed to 1989		—
March 28, 1989	RA 6679		May 1, 1989	Completed	~42,000
May 9, 1994	RA 7160		May 9, 1994	Completed	~42,000		Details
May 12, 1997	RA 8524		May 12, 1997	Completed	~42,000		Details
July 15, 2002	RA 9164	3	August 15, 2002	Completed	~42,000		Details
October 31, 2005	RA 9340		November 30, 2007	Postponed to 2007	41,995	—	Details
October 29, 2007			November 30, 2007	Completed	41,995		Details
October 25, 2010			November 30, 2010	Completed	42,095	34,154,174 (70.80%)	Details
October 28, 2013			November 30, 2013	Completed	42,028	38,721,421 (72.11%)	Details
October 30, 2016	RA 10923		June 30, 2018	Postponed to 2017	41,948	—	Details
October 29, 2017	RA 10952			Postponed to 2018		—
May 14, 2018	RA 10952			Completed		39,977,516 (69.67%)
May 12, 2020	RA 11462		November 30, 2023	Postponed to 2022	42,001	—	Details
December 5, 2022	RA 11462			Postponed to 2023		—
October 30, 2023	RA 11935 GR 263590			Scheduled
October 2025	RA 11462			Scheduled

Sangguniang Kabataan
Date	Law	Term (years)	Age range	Status	Synched with barangay elections?	Total barangays	Turnout	Details
December 4, 1992	RA 7160	3	15–21	Completed	No	~42,000		Details
May 9, 1994	RA 7808			Postponed to 1996	—	~42,000	—	Details
May 6, 1996	RA 7808			Completed	No	~42,000		Details
May 9, 2001	RA 8524	5		Postponed to 2002	—	~42,000	—	Details
July 15, 2002	RA 9164	3	15–18	Completed	Yes	~42,000		Details
October 31, 2005	RA 9340			Postponed to 2007	—	41,995	—	Details
October 29, 2007				Completed	Yes	41,995	31,979,309 (68.14%)	Details
October 25, 2010				Completed	Yes	42,095	2,083,069 (90.18%)	Details
October 28, 2013	RA 10632			Postponed up to 2015	Yes	42,028	—	Details
October 30, 2016	RA 10656			Postponed to 2017	—	41,948
October 29, 2017	RA 10742		15–30	Postponed to 2018	—	41,948
May 14, 2018	RA 10742			Completed	Yes	41,948	13,204,059 (64.02%)
May 12, 2020	RA 11462			Postponed to 2022	—	42,001	—	Details
December 5, 2022	RA 11462			Postponed to 2023	—		—
October 30, 2023	RA 11935			Scheduled	Yes

Indirect elections

Barangay captain

Municipal chapter

Component city chapter

Highly urbanized
or
independent component
city chapter

Provincial chapter

National chapter

SK chairperson