Comelec: 29 teachers in Abra quit as poll workers for BSKE 2023

Twenty-nine teachers in the province of Abra have withdrawn as electoral board members ahead of the October 30 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE), the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Sunday.

At a press conference, Comelec chairman George Garcia stressed that the 29 teachers backed out from serving as poll workers for the BSKE due to being related to candidates. 

“Hindi po totoo ‘yung tinakot sila o pinag-withdraw sila,” he said.

(It is not true that they were threatened or forced to withdraw.)

To replace them, the poll chairman said, 93 personnel from the Philippine National Police (PNP) will be deployed instead.

Garcia earlier said that some 3,000 PNP personnel nationwide have been trained to substitute any teachers who withdraw as electoral board members for the upcoming BSKE.

The Comelec officials went to Abra on Sunday after more than 200 candidates for the 2023 BSKE backed out from the race, and a candidate in the municipality of Bucay was shot dead.

Garcia said 284 candidates for the barangay and SK race in the province have withdrawn so far.

Garcia also said that it is peaceful in Abra and it could even be a “role model” for other provinces.

“Gusto nating patunayan sa lahat na matahimik dito sa Abra [We want to prove to everyone that it is peaceful here in Abra]. At the same time kung ang perception ng lahat sa buong bansa ay magulo ang Abra [regarding the perception that Abra is chaotic], then if we can make Abra a peaceful place for the elections, then we can make any place in the country peaceful during the conduct of the election,” he said.

In general, Garcia said that the poll body is 100% prepared for the nationwide BSKE on Monday with all of the election paraphernalia deployed from the provincial to municipal treasurers and are set to be delivered in respective polling precincts.

He also encouraged eligible individuals to exercise their right to vote and to do so in a right way.

“Bumoto nang tama. Kung ano ang tama, dikta na ‘yan ng konsensya niyo ‘yan, ng puso at isip,” he said.

(Vote wisely. What is right will be dictated by your conscience, heart, and mind.) — BM, GMA Integrated News