Makabayan bloc seeks hike in salaries of Comelec officials, employees

The House Makabayan bloc on Thursday filed a measure seeking to increase the salaries officials and employees of the Commission on Elections.

This is provided under House Bill 1219 which upgrades the Salary Grade (SG) of Regional Election Director, Assistant Regional Election Director and Regional Election Attorney to SG 29, SG 28 and SG 25, respectively, from the previous range of SG 18 to SG 24.

Likewise, the measure puts Provincial Election Director at SG 27, Provincial Election Deputy Director III at SG 26, Provincial Election Deputy Director II at SG 25, and Provincial Election Deputy Director at SG 24, among others.

The Makabayan bloc lawmakers noted that Comelec lawyers, accountants, statisticians, and other professionals receive less than their counterparts in other agencies and it is only in Comelec where they are classified as rank-and-file.

"For instance, Comelec lawyers (Attorney II, Election Officers for cities, and Provincial Election Supervisors), are in SG 18, SG 21, or SG 24, receiving P40,637, P57,805 or P83,406 monthly, respectively. On the other hand, the Public Attorney's Office gives SG 25 to SG 29 (P95,083 to Pl55,030) to its Public Attorneys (PA I to PA V), while clerks of court in the Regional Trial Courts are at SG 24 to SG 26 (P83,406 to P l07,444)," the lawmakers said.

"Every step of the election process, from voters' registration to the canvassing of votes, is carried out because Comelec employees toil all year round. They work even harder during the four-month-long election season, and are additionally saddled by flawed automation," they added.

The amount necessary for the initial implementation of this bill will be charged against the available appropriations of the Comelec under the current General Appropriations Act.

Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for its continued implementation will be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

Given the additional cost, the progressive group said that answering such Comelec employees' call for decent salaries will also help insulate them from graft and corruption during elections, as well as compensate them for the risks they are forced to face due to election violence.

They cited that the duties and jurisdiction of Provincial Election Supervisors (SG 24 with P83,406), who manage areas with half a million to a million voters, making them roughly equivalent to Division Superintendents in the Department of Education (DepEd) who are at SG 26 (P107,444).

In addition, the Makabayan bloc said Election Officers under SG 12 (P22,938) manage areas with 20,000 to 400,000 voters, making them similarly situated with DepEd's District Supervisors who are at SG 21 (P57,805)

"It is unjust that poll workers-the very backbone of the democratic exercise-are rewarded by the government with salaries disproportionate to their  vital roles," they said.

"For the foregoing reasons, approval of this bill is earnestly sought," they added.

The Makabayan bloc is composed of party-list representatives France Castro of Alliance of Concerned Teachers, Arlene Brosas of Gabriela and Raoul Manuel of Kabataan. — RSJ, GMA News