MANILA, Philippines --- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) should pay in advance the full payment of teachers who will man the May 2013 mid-term national and local elections, a senator said yesterday.
“The Comelec wants a fair and honest elections but fairness should also be accorded to our teachers by paying them in full ahead of the May political exercise,” said Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr.
These teachers have reportedly asked for an increase in poll pay from P4,000 to P6,000 which they said could be sourced out from the savings of the poll body.
Marcos cited reports that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) had announced the release of an additional P4.1 billion to augment the Comelec’s budget to aid its preparation for the synchronized national, local and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) elections.
The son of the late President Marcos said many teachers assigned to poll duty in the past had protested because of delays in the release of honoraria due them.
There were also reports of teachers complaining that the pay was given on installment basis, in some cases long after their tasks had been completed and the elections finished, he pointed out.
Marcos said he does not see any reason for a repeat of the sorry situation since the Comelec has enough funds at this early and it could easily allocate and release the teachers’ compensation.
“Kapag eleksyon, nakatuon ang atensyon ng lahat sa mga kandidato at nakakalimutan ‘yung mga guro samantalang sila ang nagtatrabaho. Sa darating na halalan, dapat tingnan naman ang kanilang kapakanan. Kaya naman siguro dapat na bayaran sila in advance at ‘wag naman din sanang hulugan kasi andyan na ang pondo (During elections, the focus is on the candidates and not on the teachers who man the electoral exercise. We hope Comelec should look after the teachers’ welfare by paying them in advance and not to pay them in installment basis.),” he said.
Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/390128/pay-poll-teachers-advance-sen-marcos#.UPmQxB03uOV