THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has completed its payment of the over 600,000 individuals who served during the October 30 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).
Data released by the Comelec on Monday night showed that all of the 605,379 Election Board (EB) members and 37,333 Department of Education Supervisor Officials (DESOs) have received their honoraria, as of November 13.
Under the Election Service Reform Act, the EB honoraria and allowances must be paid within 15 days from the date of elections.
Comelec chairman George Garcia said almost P7 billion was disbursed by the poll body for the honoraria.
For the 2023 BSKE, the EB chairperson, members, and DESO support staff were paid P10,000, P9,000, and P8,000 respectively.
Vice President Sara Duterte thanked the Comelec for heeding her call for the timely release of the honoraria of all teachers and personnel who served in the barangay and youth polls.
Duterte, the concurrent secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd), said in a Facebook post that based on the report submitted by the Comelec, “100 percent of our personnel have received their election honoraria.”
The Vice President has appealed as early as March for an early distribution of the honorarium of public school teachers who serve as poll workers in every election, saying that some teachers had complained about the delayed release of their compensation after working in the electoral board.
The Vice President also thanked the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), PNP, AFP and all other relevant agencies “for technical, legal and security assistance to our schools and personnel.”
“DepEd is one with the nation in hoping for a stronger and resilient Philippines with the help of our newly elected Barangay and SK officials,” Duterte said. — With Wendell Vigilia
