MANILA — Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said there is a constitutional pathway to use unspent funds for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) for crisis response, even as he acknowledged concerns raised by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) over fund realignment.

Lacson made the statement amid proposals to postpone the BSKE and tap about P16 billion in unused allocations to help address the fuel crisis linked to tensions in the Middle East.

He clarified that while direct realignment of Comelec funds to other agencies may be unconstitutional, the budget can still be treated as savings if not spent.

“What the Chairman says is true. Funds allocated to the Comelec cannot be realigned to items outside it because that would be unconstitutional. But the allocations can still be treated as savings – Comelec may opt not to spend the funds for the BSKE and declare them as savings to be returned to the Treasury,” Lacson said.

Comelec Chairperson George Erwin Garcia earlier noted that around P19 billion was allocated for the BSKE under the 2026 General Appropriations Act, with about P3 billion already used for preparations.

Garcia initially raised constitutional concerns over proposals to reallocate the funds, but later agreed with Lacson’s position that unused allocations may be classified as savings.

“Yes po, yun talaga ang tama at tama po si Senator Ping Lacson. Kapag sa amin … yung lahat ng savings namin, pwede naman namin maibalik yun o hindi natin gagastusin. So yung siguro ang isang strategy na pwede nila pag-isipan kung saka-sakali ng ating Kongreso, hindi ililipat pero hindi halimbawa itutuloy ang halalan, hindi namin gagastusin ang pondong nasa DBM pa,” Garcia said.

“At the same time pagka po ito ay hindi nagamit, savings na po yan and therefore maibalik po yan sa ating treasury at therefore magagamit maaari sa ibang pagkakagamitan pag natapos na po itong date kung dapat kung saan gagawin dapat ang ating halalan,” he added.

The BSKE was originally scheduled for December 1, 2025, but was moved to November 2, 2026. Some lawmakers are now pushing for another postponement due to the ongoing fuel crisis.