Angeles City teachers: ‘We’re prepared for May 9 polls but…’

ANGELES CITY, Philippines – A major concern about the upcoming polls is the preparedness of teachers on May 9. In Angeles City, almost a week before Filipino voters elect their new leaders, teachers said that they are now fully prepared for the job.

Dr Nestor De Guzman, an elementary teacher, said that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) did a good job in preparing Angeles City teachers for the elections.

According to De Guzman, Comelec gave them a one-on-one demonstration and a 3-day training to show how the vote counting machines (VCM) work and to help them familiarize with the process. 

Manuals and guidelines were also given as reviewers. Handling of legal problems and complains were also presented during the training.

“Sapat na sapat,” (It was more than enough) De Guzman said when asked if Comelec had given them enough training.

Hermes Vargas, a secondary school principal, echoed De Guzman’s assessment, noting that a training for supervisors will be given in the next few days.

Voters’ preparedness

What concerns De Guzman and Vargas is the preparedness of voters.  The problem, they said, may not come from the teachers or the VCMs but from the voters themselves.

“The problem may be the voters who aren’t familiar with the process, especially with the issuing of the receipts,” De Guzman said.

In March, the voter’s receipt became an issue after the Supreme Court ordered Comelec to make issuance of the receipt mandatory despite the poll body’s unanimous vote against it. 

According to Comelec chairman Andres Bautista, the voter’s receipt might be used for vote buying because it can serve as an evidence for a voter’s candidate of choice. (READ: Can voters be jailed for taking voting receipts out of precincts?)

“The Supreme Court’s decision on the voting receipts only came out 3 days after our training. It wasn’t included in our training,” De Guzman said. 

An orientation on the voter’s receipt was held in a separate occassion, he added.

Voters are required drop their receipts in an allotted box before they leave their polling precincts. Taking out the receipts may be taken as an election offense since no election paraphernalia is allowed outside the precincts. 

Irate voters

However, while the teachers were taught how to maintain and fix the VCMs whenever they encounter a technical problem, De Guzman said they are not prepared if other circumstances arise.

“What if someone points a gun at me? What if a pregnant voter labors while voting?” he asked.

De Guzman added that they are expecting more irate voters than technical lapses.

The challenge for voters, the teachers noted, is for them to enter their polling precincts prepared on election day. – Rappler.com

Wenri Deguzman, a student of Holy Angel University, is one of Rappler’s lead Movers in Pampanga.