The Commission on Elections (Comelec), the government’s poll watchdog, will help teachers on their appeal for an overtime pay when they are on duty on May 9, election day, as well as for the removal of tax on their honorarium, Commissioner George Garcia said Monday.
Interviewed on Dobol B TV, Garcia said the constitutional body would look into the appeal of teachers and endorse it to concerned agencies like the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
“We hope the Comelec can help bring this to the BIR if they can waive the tax on the pay of teachers for their service on election day,” Garcia said.
In a meeting with Teachers’ Dignity Coalition on Sunday, Garcia said the appeal for overtime pay was also discussed, an appeal echoed by another group, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers, whose secretary general Raymond Basiliosaid the voting process was expected to be longer with COVID-19 protocols to be enforced on May 9.
The poll body earlier said voting hours on the May 9 national and local elections would be from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Comelec sets May 9, 2022 voting hours from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Basilio stressed that teachers might start to work as early as 3 a.m. to get election paraphernalia, prepare the polling precincts and ensure all systems are working.
He said the group had requested for a dialogue with Comelec since January.
Garcia said a joint memorandum circular between the Civil Service Commission and the Department of Budget and Management provided that Comelec was not allowed to give overtime pay to workers who were not their employees.
Garcia suggested forwarding the appeal to the CSC and DBM.
ACT earlier denounced the 20-percent tax hike on Board of Election Inspectors’ honoraria and allowances, which would result in smaller net pay.
For the 2022 elections, BEI members will receive P7,000 in honorarium, P2,000 in travel allowance, and P500 in COVID-19 hazard allowance.
The group earlier sought P10,000 honorarium for chairpersons of electoral boards and up to P5,000 in travel allowance.