THE Supreme Court ordered for an oral argument this Friday, October 21, 2022, over a petition by election lawyer, Romulo Macalintal seeking to stop the postponement of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) under RA 11935.
Incidentally, RA 11935 was the second law to be signed by President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr., as president, the other one being RA 11934 or the ‘Subscribers’ Identity Module (SIM) Card Registration Act, last October 10, 2022.
RA 11935 mandates for the postponement of the BSKE this coming December and moving it to October 2023.
Ordered to file their comments not later than 12:00 noon of Friday, 3 hours before the oral arguments are the Office of the President and the Commission on Elections.
Senator Jinggoy Estrada, one of the law’s principal authors, said he was not surprised by the court’s swift action.
“I am confident that the Supreme Court will immediately act on the petition. I will not argue with the merits of the case or the lack of it,” Jinggoy said in a statement last October 17, 2022, the day Macalintal filed his petition.
“I will defer to the wisdom of our justices,” he added.
Jinggoy however noted that Congress thrice before had exercised its authority to postpone the BSKE to a later date.
“In a democratic society, everyone has an equal say on any issue, especially on the application of the law.
“Ang pagsampa ng petisyon sa Korte Suprema ay patunay na nanaig ang demokrasya sa ating bansa.
“Umaasa ako na papanigan ng kataas-taasang hukuman ang ipinasa naming batas,” he added.