Comelec chief backs hike in poll duty pay amid veto of tax exemption bill

Commission on Elections chairperson George Garcia on Thursday suggested increasing the honoraria and allowances of poll workers after President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. vetoed the bill seeking for its exemption from taxes.

In a public briefing, Garcia reiterated that the poll body respects the president's power to veto any measure.

He said the veto of the bill exempting poll workers' honoraria and allowances from tax doesn't mean that Marcos does not favor the proposal or the policy direction.

He said Marcos was looking at the general situation of the country.

According to Garcia, the president has introduced a proposal to increase the payments for poll workers —a suggestion that he also supports.

"Nagkataon po at natutuwa po ako na halos parehas po kami ng idea dahil 'yun pong tax exemption na atin po sanang igagawad o ibigay sa ating mga poll watchers ay pupwede naman pong mapunan talaga," he said.

"Bakit hindi na lang po natin i-increase halimbawa yung allowance honoraria na pupwede naming maibigay sa kanila lalo't lalo na may budget naman po kami. Kaysa.. yung budget na yan, halimbawa po 'yung excess o 'yung matitira ay kung saan mapunta ibigay na lang po namin sa mga guro o sa ibang mga poll workers na maglilingkod po sa araw ng eleksyon," he added.

Apart from this, Garcia said the Comelec can also increase the training honoraria to offset the tax deductions.

"Kung sakali po 'yung mismong itinaas namin [sa honoraria at allowances] na babawasan po o kakaltasan ng buwis ay intact," he said.

Meanwhile, the Department of Education reiterated that it will look into other non-financial benefits for teachers following Marcos' veto of the measure seeking tax exemption on their election honoraria.

“The DepEd is looking at non-financial, non-wage benefits at the moment for teachers in general. This is being studied already. [There's] already a demand for health insurance aside from PhilHealth. This is one of the things we are looking into," DepEd Spokesperson Michael Poa said in a press briefing.

Last week, Malacanang announced that Marcos has vetoed House Bill No. 9652 and Senate Bill No. 2520 or An Act Exempting from Income Taxation the Honoraria, Allowances, and other Financial Benefits of Persons Rendering Service during an Election Period.

In his veto message, Marcos said that “the measure runs counter to the objective of the government’s Comprehensive Tax Reform Program to correct the inequity in the country’s tax system and negate the progressivity of the reforms introduced under RA 10963 or the TRAIN law.”

“Moreover, the studies of pertinent government agencies on the revenue loss is too substantial an impact to be foregone,” the President said.

Some lawmakers have expressed their disapproval over Marcos' decision.

Meanwhile, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers Philippines last Wednesday called on Congress to override Marcos' veto of the measure.—LDF, GMA News