ACT seeks higher pay for teachers serving as poll workers
A teacher’s group has renewed their call for higher election service pay and additional benefits for teachers who will be working as poll workers in the 2025 midterm elections.
Vladimer Quetua, chair of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), said the group wants to raise these concerns anew “as early as now” to ensure that teachers and other volunteers who will serve as the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) will get their rightful benefits for next year’s polls.
Quetua called on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and legislators to heed the demands of poll workers for higher honoraria, allowances and benefits, as well as additional legal and security protections for BEIs.
“It’s no secret that teachers who are at the frontlines of every election face several issues—from compensation to inhumane conditions, and even threats to their own welfare and safety,” Quetua said.
He explained that it was provided under Republic Act No. 10756, or the Election Service Reform Act (Esra), to review and make adjustments to the poll workers’ rates every three years.
The “steep inflation” since 2022 and the “greater risks” teachers may face in the upcoming elections should prompt the government to initiate a “significant increase” in poll work honorarium and allowances, said Quetua.
“A P15,000 net pay, at the very least, must be granted,” he pointed out, and added: “Election service compensation must also be tax-exempt so that teachers can get the full benefits of their service.”
At the same time, Quetua said that service credits for election services should also be raised from five to 10.
Additional funds should also be allocated for the overtime pay of poll workers “in expected cases of extended service during elections,” he added.
