Long Weekend Ahead: October 30 Is a Special Non-Working Day for Barangay and SK Elections

(SPOT.ph) October 30, Monday, is a special non-working day for the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr declared to allow voters to participate in the elections.  

This means a three-day long weekend from October 28 to October 30, which can extend to nine days until November 5—if you file for leave on Tuesday, October 31 and Friday, November 3. Remember that November 1 and 2 are also holidays for Undas.

October 28 - Saturday (weekend)
October 29 - Sunday (weekend)
October 30 - Monday (Barangay, SK Elections)
October 31 - Tuesday (file for leave)
November 1 - Wednesday (All Saints' Day)
November 2 - Thursday  (Additional Special Non-Working Day)
November 3 - Friday (file for leave)
November 4 - Saturday (weekend)
November 5 - Sunday (weekend)

Also read: Mall Voting Will Be Held in These Sites for the First Time in the Philippines

What you need to know about the Barangay, SK Elections

The 2023 barangay and SK elections has long been delayed. It was supposed to be held in May 2020, then postponed to December 2022, before Marcos signed a law to move it to October 2023. Since then, barangay and SK officials have been serving in holdover capacity.

On October 30, some 67.8 million Filipinos are expected to cast their vote for the barangay elections, while some 23.2 million people are registered to cast their ballots in the SK polls from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. It's not an automated election so instead of shading their choices, voters will have to manually write down the names of the candidates.

Among the positions up for grabs are: punong barangay (chairman), sangguniang barangay (barangay council), and Sangguniang Kabataan leaders. Winning officials will hold their position for three years.

For the first time, mall voting will be held to help senior citizens, pregnant women, and persons with disabilities (PWDs) to cast their vote in a convenient way. Comelec partnered with SM Supermalls and Robinsons Malls for the pilot testing of mall voting in a total of 14 malls—12 in Metro Manila, one in Cebu, and another in Legazpi.