The Department of Education (DepEd) said on Thursday, June 3, that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has approved its proposal to increase the compensation and benefits of teachers who will act as poll workers in 2022.

In a statement sent to media, the DepEd said that Comelec replied to its request on April 29, saying that the commission “fully supported the adjusted honoraria, which gets bumped up to a P3,000 increase.”

Aside from this, the DepEd said Comelec will also include the provision of transportation allowance, food and water allowance, and clean-up and repair/maintenance expenses as part of its budget proposal for the 2022 elections.

“With the current risk of COVID-19, DepEd’s request for health insurance coverage for those who will be infected with the virus will also be part of the budget proposal,” the DepEd said.

Meanwhile, other benefits such as on-site swab testing, shifting, and working hours of public school teachers, tax exemption, and “any absence/transfer/leave of DepEd employees due to election-related incidents will still be studied by the Commission and the Department.”

“We want to express our gratitude to the Comelec for approving our request for higher compensation for our teachers that will render their services in the next year’s election. Given the current health situation, it is rightful for them to receive additional allowance,” Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said in a statement.

The DepEd has also proposed the creation of Comelec-DepEd Monitoring and Coordination Teams as part of the 2022 DepEd Election Task Force, composed of select officials and personnel from the different levels of DepEd governance. The department said honoraria for members of the Monitoring and Coordination Teams will also be included in the Comelec budget.

During the last 2019 elections, over 500,000 teachers served as poll workers while almost 36,830 schools were turned into polling centers.

Over 60 million voters are expected to participate in the 2022 national elections, the first to be conducted in the middle of a pandemic. – Rappler.com