ACT urges P10-k net honoraria for teachers rendering election duties

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers in the Philippines has asked that the higher honararia rates the Commission on Elections announced for teachers rendering elections duties be the net amount they would receive after taxes.

In a statement, ACT also called for a P3,000 transportation allowance and a P2,500 food allowance for every election worker.

“Despite the increases, the net honoraria will remain inadequate if the 20% tax deduction will be applied to the said amounts. Election board chairpersons will just get P8,000, members will have P7,200, while support staff will only take home P6,400,” ACT Philippines chairperson Vladimer Quetua said.

“These do not satisfactorily compensate for the hard work and dangers faced by our election workers for several days of training and preparations, and more than 24 hours of duty on the day of the manual elections,” he added.

Comelec chairman George Garcia has announced that the honoraria of the board of election inspectors would be increased to P10,000, P9,000, and P8,000 from P6,000, P5,000, and P4,000, respectively, for the October elections.

Congress passed a measure exempting from income taxation the honoraria, allowances, and other financial benefits of persons rendering service during an election period.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vetoed the measure, saying “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” and that “the studies of pertinent government agencies on the revenue loss is too substantial an impact to be foregone.” —NB, GMA Integrated News