Marlyn Gerio
Master Teacher I
Cataning Elementary School, Balanga
Elections always demand bravery and a sense of humor from public school teachers who are asked to serve in the name of democracy. Most teachers have no choice in the matter. And most do it out of love of country.
Election officials want teachers involved because we are the most patient and diligent individuals among public servants, even if we get paid less than we deserve.
Before the last elections, teachers had to attend a two-day orientation seminar. They also had to devote one day to learn about the sealing of the precinct count optical scan machines that, as it turned out, eased our agony a bit and helped us save time and effort.
All election paraphernalia had to be placed in designated envelopes. The ballot box was quite big and could not be carted easily to safety in the event of an emergency. Its size and weight would have incapacitated any board of election inspectors member who tried to carry it.
In the past, when things were done manually, it would take us two days to finish the counting of ballots and to prepare the election returns. This time, with a click and a clunk, the machine printed out everything we needed and the results were transmitted electronically.
I was not assigned to a school this year. My polling place was in the clubhouse of a subdivision in Balanga, Bataan.
I did not encounter demanding and aggressive voters. Most of the voters in my precinct were professionals, although they also got impatient having to stand in line for quite a while. It was a minor problem compared to the past, when elections were truly painful undertakings.