Over 200k Teachers to Do Poll Duty on May 13: DepEd

Around 237,000 teachers will serve as Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) and Board of Election Tellers (BETs) during the May 13 mid-term elections, an official of the Department of Education (DepEd) said Wednesday.

“We have just presented to the Cabinet last Monday regarding our preparations. While being a member of the electoral board is no longer compulsory, subject to the teachers’ consent, they are still the primary priority. We will only get from other positions if their number is not enough,” DepEd Undersecretary and Chief of Staff Nepomuceno Malaluan told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

Malaluan said the teachers who will perform poll duties are entitled to honoraria, transportation allowance and minimum of five days service credit which can be converted to leave credits or can be monetized.

“There is no insurance but a medical benefit PHP200,000 that will be shouldered by the government, death benefit that is PHP500,000 in case of injury or death. There is legal indemnification amount also and we are in partnership with the Public Attorney’s Office,” he said.

To ensure quick reporting of election-related concerns, Malaluan said the DepEd has developed a mobile application for teachers.

“I have not seen it but I think we will be using it this election. It’s in our report to the Cabinet. They can use it to report pre-election, during election and post-election [incidents],” he said.

“We are also doing the final orientation of those who will be part of our election task forces at the central, regional, division and even district levels which we will setup on the noon of May 12, Sunday and will be up until 5 p.m. of May 14,” he added. (PNA)