DepEd personnel to be strict in enforcing health protocols on Election Day

Personnel of the Department of Education serving as poll workers will be strict in enforcing minimum public health standards during Election Day, a DepEd official said Saturday.

"Magiging strict tayo sa pagkaroon ng social distancing. Ang mga pila ay talagang mahahaba," DepEd Director Marc Bragado said in an interview on Dobol B TV.

(We will be strict in enforcing social distancing. And the queues will thus be long.)

"Handa na ang ating mga guro at ang DepEd para sa darating na Lunes. Ang amin lamang iniisip ngayon ay paano patatakbuhin ang eleksyon ngayong may pandemic at mayroon tayong mga bagong gagawin, 'yung tinatawag nating isolation polling place, medical help desk, at voter assistance desk po," he added.

(Our teachers and DepEd are ready for Monday. We are just focusing on how to conduct the election amid the pandemic, and we will have new facilities such as the isolation polling place, medical help desk, and voter assistance desk.)

Bragado said a DepEd Supervisor Official (DESO) assigned to a polling center will have two support staff. One is a safety protocol staff to ensure order in queues, enforce social distancing, and remind voters to avoid talking inside and outside the polling center. Another is the technical support staff that will attend to any glitches that may be encountered with vote counting machines.

The DepEd official also said that the number of people inside the isolation polling place (IPP) will be limited to five at any one time. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) earlier said it will have IPPs for voters who will show COVID-19 symptoms as part of precautionary measures on May 9 elections.

The DepEd official said teachers serving on Election Day were required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and not be more than 60 years old.

DepEd Undersecretary Alain Pascua on Friday said that 647,812 Education personnel will serve as poll workers on Election Day. This represents around 90% of the 756,083 total poll workers on duty on May 9.

"Sa 106,439 clustered precincts, nasa mahigit 319,000 ang ating mga electoral board... Hindi lang ito mga guro, mayroon ding mga DESO, support staff at board of canvasser... Lahat ng DepEd na teaching at non-teaching personnel, nasa mahigit 647,000," Bragado said Saturday.

(In 106,439 clustered precincts, our electoral board number more than 319,000. These comprise teachers, DESO, support staff, and board of canvasser. Counting all DepEd teaching and non-teaching personnel, the number of those serving on Election Day is more than 647,000.)

He added that some teachers declined to go on poll duty as part of the electoral board due to various reasons such as worry of contracting COVID-19, security threat, ailment, and comorbidities.

Bragado also said that as per Comelec resolution, poll workers will receive their honoraria 15 days after the elections or on May 24.

The chairman of the electoral board will get P7,000, while the poll clerk will get P6,000. The DESO will get P5,000, and support staff will get P3,000.

Bragado said they are also given P2,000 allowance each, and COVID-19 hazard pay of P500.

He added that there is also a legal indemnification package of P50,000 should teachers face charges regarding their service on Election Day.

DepEd personnel serving as poll workers in need of medical assistance will also be able to have their costs reimbursed up to P200,000, Bragado said.

Meanwhile, should there be any fatality, beneficiaries will receive up to P500,000, he added. —KG, GMA News