MANILA, Philippines — The public school teachers who were deputized for election duty have been told to pay P200 each to get their honoraria through “cash cards,” a teachers’ group alleged on the eve of elections.
Public school teacher Benjie Valbuena, national chairman of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), said they learned that teachers in Cebu and Davao provinces were told by their superiors on Saturday that they would have to shoulder the cost of the cash cards.
Last month, the Department of Education (DepEd) said it made an arrangement with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) so that the teachers could get their election honoraria and allowances on time through their Landbank payroll accounts or through cash cards that would be mailed to them a few days before the elections.
Valbuena said based on the reports reaching them, the teachers’ honoraria would no longer be coursed through their ATM payroll accounts but through the cash cards issued by Landbank.
“They were being charged P200 for processing fee of these cash cards and the processing may take at least two weeks,” he said.
When reached for comment, a member of the DepEd Election Task Force said they were not aware of the situation and said the Comelec has been tapped to be in charge of the distribution of the teachers’ honoraria, including the cash cards.
With about 240,000 public school teachers serving as election inspectors and supervisors, Valbuena said the total cost of the cash cards alone would reach P48 million.
“They’re taking advantage of the teachers,” he said.
During the signing of the memorandum of agreement last April 10, Education Secretary Armin Luistro and Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. promised that teachers would get their honoraria on time.
In past elections, the payment of honoraria was always delayed.
Teachers’ groups have been demanding for an increase in the teachers’ honoraria which has been unchanged for many years.
Comelec will pay public school teachers who will serve as chairmen or members of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) for every clustered precinct P3,000 as honorarium, P500 for the final testing and sealing of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machine and P500 as transportation allowance.
Public school teachers, principals or supervisors who will serve as election supervisors for every 10 clustered precincts will be given P3,000 while their support staff will each get P1,500.
DepEd supervisors or superintendents who will serve as members of the city, municipal, district, provincial or regional Boards of Canvassers will be given P5,000 each.