Senators on Saturday said all election workers, including teachers and non-teachers, should have received their full honoraria, especially now that the village and youth council elections are officially over, and all winners have been proclaimed.
Senators Sherwin Gatchalian and Christopher Lawrence Go expressed their gratitude to election workers, both teachers and non-teachers, for their contributions to the last elections.
The Commission on Elections reported that 99,801 members of the Electoral Board (EB) have been paid, which is only 16.5% of the 605,379 total EB members who served during the last Barangay and Sanggunian Kabataan Elections.
In the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), over 1,200 policemen served in place of teachers who begged off from poll duties due to security concerns and to prevent election failure.
The Department of Education has assured that teachers are entitled to medical benefits and personal accident insurance coverage, which can be availed through the Government Service Insurance System.
Gatchalian has sought to exclude poll workers rendering service in the future from gross income and exempt from tax the honoraria, travel allowances, and other benefits granted by the Comelec. He filed a similar measure during the 18th Congress.
The senator believes that granting the full amount of their honoraria is the best way to show gratitude and appreciation for their commitment to ensure clean, honest, and orderly elections in the country.
Senator Go congratulated the newly elected barangay officials on their duty to prioritize the needs and welfare of their constituents.
He said that barangays provide frontline services to their citizens, providing them with the necessary resources for the improvement of public services at the barangay level.
Go has filed Senate Bill 427, or the Barangay Health Workers Compensation Bill, which seeks to provide Barangay Health Workers with a monthly honorarium, allowances, job security, consistent training, and opportunities for skill development.
He also continues to exert efforts to bridge the gap between government employees serving at the grassroots and those at the city level.