Comelec to ask from Congress honoraria hike for teachers serving in 2023 polls

Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman George Garcia said Sunday the poll body will still ask Congress to allocate supplemental budget to increase the honoraria for teachers who will serve during the 2023 barangay, and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).

This was after Garcia announced on Saturday that there will be no increase in the teacher’s honoraria as the poll body was not granted an additional budget for the purpose.

“Talagang ipupursige ng Commission on Elections na mabigyan sila ng dagdag na honoraria. ‘Yan po ay ating ipakikiusap sa Kongreso kapag tayo nakiusap sa kanila para supplemental budget para sa barangay at SK elections,” he said on Super Radyo dzBB interview.

(Comelec will really push for the additional honoraria. We will ask from Congress a supplemental budget for the barangay and SK elections.)

“‘Yan ang ating panawagan at sana tayo’y mapakinggan sa bagay na ‘yan [para sa] kapakanan ng ating guro. Mas mahirap ang trabaho kapag Barangay at SK elections dahil hindi automated. Mano-manong binibilang ng ating guro ang mga balota,” he added.

(That is our call and I hope we will be heard for the sake of our teachers. The work is more difficult during BSKE because it is not automated. Our teachers manually count the ballots.)

According to Garcia, Electoral Board chairpersons will receive P6,000; P5,000 for the Electoral Board members; and P4,000 for precinct workers.

In 2022, the Comelec was given P8.4 billion for the postponed December 2022 polls.

Since it was rescheduled to 2023, the Comelec asked Congress for an additional budget of P10 billion, on top of the P8.4 billion, for the BSKE.

However, Comelec spokesperson Rex Laudiangco said Congress only allocated P2.7 billion under this year's national budget. Garcia said this was only enough to pay for the original honoraria rate of the teachers. —LBG, GMA Integrated News