Law sets rules on election officers' qualifications – Comelec

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) does not make the rules on who is qualified or who should be banned from serving as an Electoral Board member during polls as this was determined by the law, the Comelec said on Friday.

“Meron tayong sinusunod na batas, and Election Service Reform Act. Kaya hindi lamang kami [sa Comelec] ang makakapagsabi sino ang puedeng maging kabilang ng electoral board,” Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez explained.

“Kailangan po boluntaryo ang pagsisilbi bilang electoral board. Hindi puede pilitin ang sinuman, dapat kasama sila sa order of preference kapag hindi tayo makakuha ng school teacher, at dapat sang-ayon ang indibidwal. 'Yun lamang po . Walang ibang criteria na sinusunod.”

Jimenez made the clarification after ex-lawmaker Mohammad Omar Fajardo of Tao Muna party-list asked the Comelec to ban members of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers party-list to serve as BEIs in the May polls, claiming that this would give the Alliance of Concerned Teachers party-list an undue advantage.

Under the Election Service Reform Act, Electoral Boards needed to be public school teachers who were willing and available to render election service.

In case of lack of public school teachers willing, available, or qualified to serve, the law allowed the Comelec to appoint the following persons in this order of preference:
a) private school teachers;
b) national government employees:
c)  Department of Education’s non-teaching personnel;
d) other national government officials and employees holding regular or permanent positions, excluding uniformed personnel of the Department of National Defense and all its attached agencies;
e) members of the Comelec-accredited citizen arms or other civil society organizations and nongovernmental organizations duly accredited by the Commission; and
(d) any registered voter of the city or municipality of known integrity and competence who is not connected with any candidate or political party.

The Election Service Reform law also made it clear that uniformed Philippine National Police personnel were to be deputized and would render election service as a last resort “in cases where the peace and order situation so requires as determined by the Commission and where there are no qualified voters willing to serve." — DVM, GMA News