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Republic Act No. 9340· Enacted 2005-09-22

Barangay and SK Elections Reset Law (RA 9340) — BatasKo ELI5

RA 9340 moved the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections to the last Monday of October 2007 and every 3 years after. Learn what this scheduling law means for local governance in the Philippines.

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Ang Batas sa Madaling Salita— ELI5

RA 9340 reset the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections to the last Monday of October 2007, then every 3 years after that. Terms start at noon of November 30 following the election. Incumbent officials hold over until their successors are elected.

Official text — Republic Act No. 9340

Jump to section ↓9 sections

Preamble

Thirteenth Congress

Second Regular Session

Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-fifth day of July, two thousand and five.

REPUBLIC ACT No. 9340

AN ACT AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9164, RESETTING THE BARANGAY AND SANGGUNIANG KABATAAN ELECTIONS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippine Congress Assembled:

Section 1 — of Republic Act No. 9164 is hereby amended to read as follows:

Section 1 of Republic Act No. 9164 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SECTION 1.

Date of Election.

- There shall be synchronized barangay and sangguniang kabataan elections which shall be held on July 15, 2002. Subsequent synchronized barangay and sangguniang kabataan elections shall be held on the last Monday of October 2007 and every three (3) years thereafter."

Section 4 — of Republic Act No. 9164 is hereby amended to read as follows:

Section 4 of Republic Act No. 9164 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 4.

Assumption of Office.

- The term of office of the barangay and sangguniang kabataan officials elected under this Act shall commence on August 15, 2002, next following their elections. The term of office of the barangay and sangguniang kabataan officials elected in the October 2007 election and subsequent elections shall commence at noon of November 30 next following their election."

Section 5 — of Republic Act No. 9164 is hereby amended to read as follows:→

Section 5 of Republic Act No. 9164 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 5.

Hold Over.

- All incumbent barangay and all sangguniang kabataan officials shall remain in office unless sooner removed or suspended for cause until their successors shall have been elected and qualified

Provided

,

however

, That barangay and all sangguniang kabataan officials who are

ex officio

members of the sangguniang bayan, sangguniang panlungsod or sangguniang panlalawigan as the case may be shall continue to serve as such members in the sanggunian concerned until the next barangay election. The Liga ng mga Barangay at the municipal, city, and provincial levels shall, within thirty (30) days after the next barangay election, conduct elections for

ex officio

positions in the sanggunians under the supervision of the Department of the Interior and Local Government."

Section 8 — of Republic Act No. 9164 is hereby amended to read as follows:→

Section 8 of Republic Act No. 9164 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 8 .

Appropriations.

- The amount necessary for the implementation of this Act shall be taken from the appropriation of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) under the General Appropriations Act and/or supplementary appropriations thereafter.

"In addition, the savings of the COMELEC not exceeding Three hundred million pesos (P300,000,000.00) shall be used to augment said appropriations as authorized under COMELEC Special Provision No. 2 of Republic Act No. 9162.

"The funds mentioned above may be augmented by an amount not exceeding ten percent (10%) of the sangguniang kabataan funds reserved pursuant to Section 532(c) of Republic Act No. 7160."

SEC. 5 — Implementing Rules and Regulations.→

SEC. 5.

Implementing Rules and Regulations.

- The COMELEC shall promulgate such rules and regulations necessary to implement this Act.

SEC. 6 — Repealing Clause.→

SEC. 6.

Repealing Clause.

- All laws, decrees, executive orders, and rules and regulations, or parts thereof, inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Show 2 more sections +→
SEC. 7 — Separability Clause.→

SEC. 7.

Separability Clause.

- If, for any reason, any section or provision of this Act is held unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or provisions hereof shall not be affected and thereby remain in full force and effect.

SEC. 8 — Effectivity Clause.→

SEC. 8.

Effectivity Clause.

- This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its complete publication in at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,

FRANKLIN DRILON

President of the Senate

JOSE DE VENECIA JR.

Speaker of the House of Representatives

This Act is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 2000 and House Bill no. 3742 was finally passed by the Senate and House of Representative on September 20, 2005.

OSCAR G. YABES

Secretary of Senate

ROBERTO P. NAZARENO

Secretary General

House of Represenatives

Approved: September 22 2005

GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO

President of the Philippines

The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation

Full text on BatasKo. Original source: Official Gazette / Lawphil.

Ang barangay election ay hindi laging ginaganap sa iisang petsa sa buong kasaysayan ng Pilipinas. Paulit-ulit itong na-reset ng Congress — at ang RA 9340 ay isa sa mga batas na nagbago ng petsa.

ELI5: RA 9340 moved the barangay and SK elections to the last Monday of October 2007, and set them to happen every 3 years after that. Winning officials start their terms at noon on November 30 following their election. If elections are delayed, current officials hold their posts until replaced.

Ito ay procedural law — walang mga bagong karapatan, walang bagong punishments. Petsa lang ang binago.

Real Filipino Scenario

Si Kapitan Jun, isang 55-anyos na incumbent barangay captain sa Davao City, ay nagtatanong sa kanyang konsehal: "Kailan na naman ba ang sunod na halalan natin?"

Ang sagot ng konsehal: "Basta ayon sa RA 9340, Oktubre 2007 — last Monday. Tapos every 3 years na after non."

"At kailan tayo mag-aassume ng office?"

"Noon ng November 30 next following the election — ayon sa Section 4."

Hindi simple ang barangay election schedule sa Pilipinas. Ilang beses na itong binago ng Congress. Ang RA 9340 ay ang batas na nag-set ng 2007 election at ang three-year cycle na sumunod.

What the Law Actually Says

RA 9340, approved on September 22, 2005, amended Republic Act No. 9164 (the earlier barangay and SK elections law) to adjust the election schedule (RA 9340, Preamble).

Key provisions

New election dates (Section 1, amending RA 9164 Section 1):

  • Synchronized barangay and SK elections were originally held on July 15, 2002
  • Subsequent elections: last Monday of October 2007, and every 3 years thereafter

When do newly elected officials take office? (Section 2, amending RA 9164 Section 4):

  • Officials elected in the July 2002 election started at noon on August 15, 2002
  • Officials elected in October 2007 and subsequent elections start at noon of November 30 following their election

Hold-over rule (Section 3, amending RA 9164 Section 5):

  • All incumbent barangay and SK officials remain in office until their successors are elected and qualified — unless removed or suspended for cause earlier
  • Barangay and SK officials who are ex officio members of the sangguniang bayan, panlungsod, or panlalawigan continue serving until the next barangay election
  • Within 30 days after the next barangay election, the Liga ng mga Barangay must hold elections for ex officio positions, supervised by DILG

Budget for elections (Section 4, amending RA 9164 Section 8):

  • Funds come from COMELEC's appropriations under the General Appropriations Act
  • COMELEC may use up to ₱300,000,000 from its savings to augment the budget
  • Up to 10% of SK funds reserved under Section 532(c) of RA 7160 (Local Government Code) may also be used

COMELEC has the authority to promulgate implementing rules (Section 5).

What This Means for You

If you are a voter in any barangay in the Philippines, this law was the legal basis for the October 2007 barangay and SK elections. It established the 3-year election cycle for barangay-level positions that persisted through subsequent election cycles.

Para sa mga barangay official: ang hold-over provision ay importante. Kapag hindi natuloy ang halalan sa tamang petsa (due to postponement or other reasons), nananatili kang naka-hold-over sa iyong posisyon hangga't may bagong halal na kahalili.

Para sa mga kabataang nagnanais na tumakbo sa SK: ang RA 9340 ang batas na nagtatakda ng election schedule para sa Sangguniang Kabataan — ang youth council sa bawat barangay.

What Most Filipinos Get Wrong

"May permanenteng petsa na ang barangay elections."

Hindi. Ang barangay election schedule ay paulit-ulit na na-reset ng Congress sa pamamagitan ng iba't ibang batas. Ang RA 9340 ay isa sa mahabang linya ng mga batas na nagbago ng petsa — at pagkatapos nito, marami pang nagbago.

"Ang SK elections ay hiwalay sa barangay elections."

Ayon sa RA 9340, ang SK elections ay synchronized sa barangay elections — iisang araw, iisang schedule.

"Ang isang barangay official na natalo sa halalan ay kailangang umalis agad."

Ang hold-over provision ay nagtatakda na ang mga incumbent ay nananatili sa pwesto hangga't ang mga bagong halal ay qualified na. Hindi automatic ang paglipat ng kapangyarihan sa susunod na araw pagkatapos ng halalan.

"Ang COMELEC lang ang may kapangyarihan sa barangay elections."

Totoo na ang COMELEC ang nagpapatakbo ng elections. Pero ang RA 9340 ay nagtatakda rin ng papel ng DILG — especially sa pagsubaybay sa Liga ng mga Barangay elections para sa ex officio positions sa mga sanggunian.

What to Do If You Have Concerns About Your Barangay Election

  1. Check your voter registration — Make sure you are registered in the correct barangay and your address is current before any election
  2. Know the current election schedule — Ang petsa ng barangay elections ay maaaring ma-adjust ng Congress; i-check ang COMELEC website sa comelec.gov.ph para sa pinaka-updated na impormasyon
  3. Know who is eligible to vote for SK — SK elections have youth voter eligibility requirements (age ranges vary per law); check current COMELEC guidelines
  4. Report election violations — Ang vote buying, harassment, o iba pang irregularities ay dapat i-report sa COMELEC o sa pinakamalapit na police station
  5. Participate actively — Ang mga opisyal ng barangay ay ang pinaka-accessible na antas ng pamahalaan. Ang iyong boto ay may malaking epekto sa iyong komunidad.

Related Laws

FAQs

Kailan ang susunod na barangay elections pagkatapos ng 2007?

Ayon sa RA 9340, dapat ay tuwing 3 taon pagkatapos ng 2007 — ibig sabihin, 2010, 2013, 2016, at iba pa. Gayunpaman, maraming beses itong na-postpone ng Kongreso sa pamamagitan ng mga bagong batas. Palaging i-check ang COMELEC para sa aktwal na petsa.

Kung hindi natuloy ang eleksyon sa takdang petsa, ano ang mangyayari sa mga opisyal?

Ang hold-over provision ng RA 9340 (Section 3) ay nagtatakda na ang mga incumbent barangay at SK officials ay nananatili sa kanilang posisyon hangga't may bagong halal na kahalili — kahit lumampas na ang takdang petsa ng eleksyon.

Anong edad ang kailangan para makapagboto sa SK elections?

Ang eligibility requirements para sa SK voters ay tinukoy sa ibang batas at maaaring nabago na. Ang RA 9340 mismo ay hindi nagtatakda ng specific age requirements. // TODO: verify current SK voter age requirements with latest COMELEC regulations.

Sources

General information only. Not legal advice. Consult PAO at 1-800-10-PAO-8888 or visit the nearest Public Attorney's Office for legal assistance.

By Irvin Abarca & Claude (AI Research Partner) | Published May 2026

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Legal disclaimer: BatasKo provides general legal information, not legal advice. For your specific situation, consult a licensed Filipino lawyer or the Public Attorney's Office (PAO).

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