Teachers want to make poll duty optional

Teachers want to make poll duty optional

By Edson C. Tandoc Jr.
Inquirer
Last updated 00:01am (Mla time) 01/23/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- Feeling overworked and underpaid, a group of public school teachers are again asking the government to just make election work non-compulsory. High school teacher Benjo Basas, head of the newly formed Teachers' Dignity Coalition, said it would be better if only those willing would be required to work on election day.

"Not everyone is happy about being poll workers," he also told the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Monday.

Deputized as election workers, public school teachers supervise balloting and the canvassing of votes, staying up until the hours before dawn, exposing themselves to the ire of losing candidates as well as to election-related violence.

There were several cases when teachers were sued after election day and most often they faced these cases alone, without any assistance from the government, Basas said. "The Commission on Elections and the Department of Education cannot assure us of legal assistance in case we need one after the elections," he added.

From P800, the Comelec has increased daily allowance of poll workers to P1,000 but Basas said "no amount can compensate for what we go through during elections."

He said teachers would have to wake up very early to stay up until the following morning-or even longer-on election day.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said he had long been pushing for pulling teachers out of election duty.

He proposed a bill to amend the law requiring teachers for election work when he was still in Congress (representing Tarlac), but this was not approved.

"Our department should be insulated from politics," he also told the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Monday but he admitted there was little the Department of Education could do right now to change the situation.

"Unfortunately, until the Comelec succeeds in full automation or can dispense of teachers in poll duty, there is no choice," Lapus also said.

He said there would be several meetings between his department and the Comelec to ensure the safety of teachers who would render election work.

Basas said he was confident there would be no shortage in election workers should their proposal to make poll duty voluntary be approved.

He said about half of the teaching force would still be willing to help out on election day. Don't count him in, however.

Following his experience in the last three elections (two local and one village), Basas said he would rather "just cast my vote, go home and sleep."

He said he would surely not miss the exhaustion and threats teachers would endure during election day.

TDC is a nine-month-old group of public school teachers based in Metro Manila and parts of Cavite.

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