Teachers, poll workers to get add’l pay for extended duty

Teachers who served additional hours as poll workers during the May 9 elections will receive an additional honorarium, according to the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) on Monday, May 16.

Commissioner George Garcia said the COMELEC en banc has already approved the request “in principle.”

“That’s approved in principle. The en banc has already discussed it yesterday (May 15). We are now identifying what and where did the incidents take place, where were the defective machines, wherein teachers were forced to extend their duties, electoral board members, in those precincts,” he said.

It will particularly cover poll personnel who have encountered problems such as faulty vote-counting machines (VCMs) or defective SD (Secure Digital) cards.

Garcia noted that the additional compensation is not limited to educators but also includes other poll workers who rendered extended hours.

“Not only do our teachers need to receive an additional honorarium, but also the support staff, and the technicians,” he said.

The additional amount has not yet been disclosed though Garcia said it would be across the board.

The number of extra hours rendered was also not discussed, “so long as the VCM has malfunctioned”, he added.

“Kinakailangang alamin muna ng mabuti. Iyan po ay tiyak na ipapadala sa atin ng ating (We need to look into it further. They will definitely be sent to us by our) operation center,” he said.

Department of Education Undersecretary Alain Pascua earlier requested an additional compensation amounting to P3,000 for all board members who served more than the required hours.