Teachers' group threatens poll boycott

AN ORGANIZATION of teachers is considering boycotting the automated polls this coming May if the Commission on Elections (Comelec) fails to act on their concerns.

Teachers' Dignity Coalition (TDC) has appealed to the poll body to prevent disenfranchisement of teachers since they will be serving as the board of election inspectors (BEIs) on May 10.

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BEIs guide registered voters on the voting process on election day. Three BEIs, including one chairman, will serve per clustered precinct.

TDC national chairperson Benjo Basas told Sun.Star that they have continuously appealed to Comelec to prevent disenfranchisement through: the verification of status of our voters' registration, reactivation of those who were deactivated, transfer of registration of those who are registered in places other than their work assignments, and special registration for teachers.

“That is one of our options for Comelec's continuous disregard of our appeal,” said Basas.

The group's members met with Comelec officials last March 12 to address the concerns of the teachers to the commission.

“We call on our members, especially those who are qualified (BEIs), to refuse poll assignments to force the Comelec to act immediately,” Basas said.

Around 300,000 teachers have been tapped by the poll body for election duties.

Comelec laws provide that a registered voter is automatically deactivated from the list if he or she fails in the two previous consecutive elections.

But the poll body said it would strictly implement election laws and that those registered are the only ones who will be able to cast their votes in the coming polls.

“There were instances before where we had teachers who have lost their registration because they were working on election day so they were allowed to register very late or allowed to cast their votes anyway. That was before but now, if you're not registered, you will not be allowed to cast their vote," explained Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez.

“The issue with teachers and registration is that those who were able to vote before in the places where they were working… they're saying that they voted but they were not recorded in their book of voters...so that's really the main issue there,” Jimenez further explained.

Last February, another teachers' organization -- Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) -- called on the commission to address the impending massive disenfranchisement of teachers.

“This is preposterous for these teachers have been voting in the precincts where they were assigned as BEIs. This problem was already resolved during former Comelec Chair Benjamin Abalos’s time which issued Comelec Resolution No. 7833 in the May 2007 elections. The resolution allowed the teachers to transfer their voter’s registration from where they reside, to the place where they work,” said ACT National Vice-Chairperson Benjamin Valbuena.

Meanwhile, a recent Comelec resolution allows BEIs to vote for not more than 30 minutes on election day in their respective precincts.

“(BEIs may) vote in the precincts where they are registered, provided that they do so when the voting in their respective places of assignments is light, and their absence shall not be for more than thirty (30) minutes. For this purpose, they shall schedule their voting so that only one member of the BEI shall leave at any one time,” Comelec Resolution No. 8798 stated.

BEIs may also avail of the local absentee voting that will be held on April 24 to 26. The registration for absentee voting ended March 15. (Kathrina Alvarez/Sunnex)