ACT submits initial list of 1,036 teachers who worked overtime on Eleksyon 2022

An initial list of 1,036 electoral board (EB) members who rendered more than 24 hours service during the May 9 elections has been submitted to the Commission on Elections (Comelec), the Alliance of Concerned Teachers said Monday.

“We have called for the granting of overtime pay to poll workers since our very first letter to Comelec regarding this year’s elections, which we sent them almost exactly a year ago today. And so, we very much welcome their positive response to our demand after some fuss at the beginning,” ACT Secretary General Raymond Basilio said in a statement.

“This is a great feat borne out of teacher-poll workers’ unrelenting fight for fair pay not only this election, but which started in the 2019 mid-term polls where scores of teachers had to continue rendering election service for up to two days after election day,” it added.

Comelec Commissioner George Garcia earlier said that the proposal to grant additional honoraria to poll workers who rendered overtime service during the May 9 elections has already been “approved in principle” by the en banc.

On Sunday, Garcia said that around P20 million budget will be allocated for the additional honoraria, with Comelec acting spokesperson Rex Laudiangco adding that the specific amount would be based on accounting and auditing rules.

Out of the 1,104 poll workers ACT initially asked on extended duties last May 9, 877 or 79.4% cited problems related to their VCMs and its SD cards, as well as that of other precincts within their clusters – all of which resulted in the extension of their work hours.

“Our EBs have always borne the brunt of several machine malfunctions and other irregularities with the conduct of elections. Basilio said.

“Being at the frontlines of every election is never easy, but our teachers continue to voluntarily offer their services to facilitate the proper conduct of polls," he added.

Moreover, he asserted that while there were so many makes or breaks in the integrity of the elections, most of which are beyond the control of EBs.

“Nevertheless, teacher-poll workers deserve to be properly compensated for all their hard work,” Basilio added.—LDF, GMA News