Tell it to SunStar: Demand for immediate payment of poll duty honoraria

By Lester Beleno, Teachers Dignity Coalition spokesman

We called on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to expedite the release of honoraria and other allowances for teachers and Department of Education (DepEd) personnel who rendered service during the recent elections.

We received reports that in several areas, the scheduled release of payments is set between May 27 and 30 — well beyond the 15-day period mandated by law.

We remind our election officers to comply with the Election Service Reform Act of 2016, which clearly mandates that payment for election service must be released within 15 days. Failure to do so may constitute an election offense.

Based on our monitoring, mas marami pa rin ang hindi nababayaran hanggang ngayon, limang araw pagkatapos ng eleksiyon. Mabilis naman kaming nagtrabaho, mabilis din ang counting and transmission pati ang proklamasyon ng mga nanalong kandidato. Sana ganoon din kabilis ang bayad. The delay is unfair to teachers who sacrificed time and effort for the electoral process.

We recognized Comelec’s initiative to grant an additional P1,000 allowance for all poll workers, an incentive already approved by the President. We acknowledge and appreciate this move, but we urge the immediate release of all due payments without further delay.