The country’s public school teachers are all set to do their respective mandated tasks during the May 14 local and national elections, the Department of Education (DepEd) said today.

DepEd Undersecretary Francis Sunga bared this at the taping of “The Cabinet Speaks” this afternoon in Malacanang, co-hosted by Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo and broadcast journalist Milky Rigonan of radio station DZRH.

Sunga said the DepEd and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) had conducted trainings from February to March this year for DepEd’s some 464,000 public school teachers, principals, supervisors and DepEd lawyers and administrative officers in connection with their role in the conduct of next week’s
polls.

Sunga said the trainings included classroom preparations, counting of votes, handling and preventing problems, and other measures designed to strengthen their capabilities, particularly on their role as members of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) and Board of Canvassers (BOCs).

Sunga explained that the BEI members are now entitled to a total of P3,000 per diem and P300 transportation allowance each, 50 percent of which will be given when they get the election paraphernalia and the other half when they submit the election returns to the BOC.

Another benefit for the teachers, Sunga said, is the setting up of a P5-million fund to cover medical expenses or death claims in the amount of P200,000 by the heirs of a BEI member in case of death in the performance of election duties. The fund can be replenished as needed, he added.

Aside from this, Sunga said members of the Philippine Public School Teachers Association (PPSTA) are protected by “a life insurance in case of accidents or dismemberment.”

To ensure the conduct of clean, honest and transparent elections, Sunga said Comelec Resolution No. 7815 has been amended by Resolution No. 7842 requiring the posting of the second copy of the Certificate of Election Returns publicly within the premises of the election precinct for 48 hours.

“Everybody in the community will now know who win in this election immediately because this will be posted for 48 hours,” Sunga said.

Republic Act No. 9369, which took effect in February, assigns new duties for BEI chairmen such as retrieving and taking custody of the second copy of the election returns posted on the precinct wall; taking custody of unclaimed copies of election returns assigned to the dominant majority party, dominant minority party and accredited citizens’ arm.

Sunga said that in previous elections, the second copy of the election returns went to the Comelec.

According to Sunga, the third copy of the election returns that usually goes to the provincial board of canvassers would now go to the Comelec, the fourth copy to the majority dominant party, and the fifth copy to the minority or the Liberal Party. Sunga said the sixth copy goes to the citizens’ arm, the National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL), which is authorized to conduct the unofficial counting, while the seventh copy goes to the ballot box.

Source :

PHILIPPINE EMBASSY, NEWS RELEASE, 08/MAY/07

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