DepEd eyes hike in teachers’ election duty allowance for 2022 polls

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) is pushing for higher honoraria for teachers who will be serving as poll workers in the 2022 national and local elections.

This comes two weeks after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) issued Resolution No. 10727 which adjusted the honoraria of teachers on election duty. Under the resolution, the chairperson of the election board (EB) will get an honorarium of P7,000, members of the EB (P6,000), Department of Education supervisor official (P5,000), and support staff and medical personnel (P3,000).

“Although it is less than our proposed increase for our teachers who will serve as poll workers, we appreciate the adjusted rates, and we will coordinate with Comelec for possible increase of the honoraria and other allowances and benefits,” Education Secretary Leonor Briones said in a statement sent by email on Friday.

She did not, however, give details on how much the suggested increase should be.

The prevailing honoraria rates are lower than what the DepEd and the Comelec have agreed on in June: P9,000 for chairpersons, P8,000 for education board members, P7,000 for DepEd supervisor officials, and P5,000 for support staff.

Under the latest Comelec resolution, the EB chairperson, members, DESO, and their respective staff are entitled to a travel allowance of P2,000.

The DESO and its technical support staff will receive a communication allowance of P1,500, while members of the EB, DESO, and their team will receive an anti-COVID-19 allowance of P500.

The upcoming national and local elections will take place on May 9, 2022, from 6 a.m to 7 p.m.

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/MUF