THE bid to provide additional compensation to teachers who served as Electoral Board (EB) members last May 9 was formally proposed to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
In his two-page memorandum, Comelec Commissioner George Garcia asked his colleagues to approve additional compensation for teachers who rendered extended poll duties.
"(There are) teachers, who served as members of the Electoral Board, and other support staff who, in the conduct of the 2022 National and Local Elections (NLE), who were forced to render extended election service due to defective or corrupted secure digital (SD) cards and malfunctioning vote counting machines (VCMs)," said Garcia.
"Accordingly, in recognition of their invaluable service to ensure the successful conduct of the elections, the undersigned respectfully recommends the grant of additional honorarium to members of the EB, DESO, and DESO Technical Support Staff, who were assigned to polling precincts that encountered malfunctioning VCMs and SD cards," he added.
The poll official noted how a total of 1,867 polling precincts encountered issues with VCMs and SD cards on Election Day.
"Aside from the extended service of the teachers, they also had to allay the anxiety and fears of voters who complained of queuing up for long hours just to cast their votes in the said polling precincts," said Garcia.
He said the additional compensation is only fitting since the teachers are considered the Comelec's partner during the elections.
"We must ensure that the teachers and support staff, whose sacrifices during Election Day are unparalleled, are fairly compensated for the work done," said Garcia.
Earlier, the Comelec en banc set the amount of honoraria for members of the Electoral Boards (EBs) more than those set by the "Election Service Reform Act."
Under Comelec Resolution 10727, the EB chairpersons will get P7,000; EB members with P6,000; DepEd Supervisor Official with P5,000; and Support Staff with P3,000.
Under the law, the EB chairpersons will get P6,000; EB members with P5,000; DepEd Supervisor Official with P4,000; and Support Staff with P2,000.
There was a total of 647,812 teaching and non-teaching staff from the Department of Education who served as poll workers last May 9. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)