ACT: Teachers not robots and machines during polls

Photo from the Alliance of Concerned Teachers

MANILA, Philippines —  Teacher-poll workers are seeking clear guidelines on the required number of hours they need to serve in the elections following reports that some teachers had to stay in the polling place for more than 24 hours.

“We want to have clear, official poll work hours for our teachers. We know the trust given to us in the election but we are not robots and machines that will work endlessly,” Ruby Bernardo, president of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) National Capital Region union, said in a press briefing on Tuesday.

Based on the latest situation report they received, teachers serving the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) at Maligaya Elementary School in Quezon City were still at the polling place as of 2:33 p.m. on Tuesday.

“They are still waiting for the Comelec (Commission on Elections) before they can proceed to the canvassing site,” the ACT said.

At San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan, the teachers were still on queue at the canvassing site because besides the BSKE, a plebiscite for highly urbanized city was also included in the polls.

“When you say service on Election Day, is that for 24 hours? Because many people here [have] already exceeded almost a day,” Bernardo said.

On average, ACT chair Vladimer Quetua said teachers spent five hours working before Election Day to prepare the ballots and other election paraphernalia.