Bill for tax-free election honoraria up for Duterte approval

FILE PHOTO: Teachers serving as board of election inspectors spend an extra day on Tuesday, May 10, 2022, wrapping up their task at North Fairview Elementary School in Quezon City after vote-counting machines and secure digital (SD) cards malfunctioned in many precincts on Election Day. INQUIRER/NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — The measure seeking to exempt from income tax the honoraria, allowances, and other benefits given to poll workers will now be passed to President Rodrigo Duterte for his approval.

The House of Representatives on Tuesday adopted Senate Bill No. 2520, which the upper chamber approved on final reading on Monday. The measure seeks to amend the National Internal Revenue Code.

If signed into law, the honoraria, travel allowance, and such other benefits granted by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to individuals rendering election service, such as teachers, will be tax-free.

Citing the Department of Education (DepEd), Senator Pia Cayetano, who sponsored the measure in the Senate, said that nearly 650,000 of its personnel rendered service during the national and local elections held last May 9.

An estimated 319,317 public school teachers sat as electoral board members while some served as supervisory election officials, according to the senator.

“Aside from performing the noble task of educating the youth, teachers also have an additional role during elections. They are called to man the polling precincts in order to protect the sanctity of every ballot and facilitate the conduct of peaceful and clean elections,” Cayetano said in an earlier sponsorship speech.

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Bill exempting election honoraria from tax gets final Senate nod

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