₱15,000 Tax-Free Election Honoraria Sought for Teachers

Teachers and their representatives are pressing the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and the national government to provide at least ₱15,000 in tax-exempt election honoraria, along with overtime pay and stronger welfare support for educators who serve during elections.

The demand was renewed by Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Party-list Representative Antonio Tinio following the promulgation of COMELEC Resolution No. 11212-A, which removes the three-month expiration period previously imposed on election service credits earned by teachers.

Tinio welcomed the new resolution as a significant development for teachers who take on election duties, saying it was the result of sustained calls from educators and their organizations for fairer compensation and benefits.

The resolution was issued following a dialogue involving Tinio, COMELEC Chairman George Garcia, ACT Chairperson Ruby Bernardo, and representatives of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT).

According to Tinio, the removal of the expiration period addresses a long-standing concern among teachers who risked losing service credits they had already earned simply because they were unable to use them within the previous three-month deadline.

He emphasized that election service credits should be regarded as compensation for the additional work performed by teachers during elections, which often involves long working hours, physical exhaustion, and heightened responsibilities.

“The promulgation of Resolution No. 11212-A is a hard-won victory for our teachers. This is the direct result of their collective action and persistent struggle to defend the compensation and benefits they rightfully deserve for taking on heavy responsibilities in our country's electoral process,” Tinio said.

Despite welcoming the change, Tinio stressed that several concerns involving teachers serving as election workers remain unresolved.

Among the reforms being sought are election honoraria of at least ₱15,000 that would be exempt from taxes, payment of overtime for extended election duties, and additional logistical, safety, and welfare assistance.

“We cannot treat our teachers as cheap labor for the country's democratic exercises,” Tinio said, arguing that educators should receive compensation that reflects the workload and risks associated with election service.

He added that teachers are frequently required to work for extended periods during elections, from preparations and voting operations to the counting, transmission, and turnover of election materials.

Tinio also welcomed COMELEC's commitment to involve teachers' unions in monitoring election-related concerns and to use the Voter Care Hotline as a mechanism for reporting and addressing problems encountered by teachers in the field.

He said closer coordination between COMELEC and educators' organizations could help ensure that concerns involving teachers' safety, working conditions, compensation, and logistical requirements are addressed more quickly.

Tinio vowed to continue pursuing reforms in Congress and through discussions with COMELEC, particularly those concerning higher election compensation and stronger protections for teachers.

“We will hold COMELEC to its commitments and continue to fight alongside our teachers for the just compensation, benefits, and protections they deserve. Their invaluable service to the nation's democracy must be recognized and valued, never exploited,” Tinio said.

The removal of the three-month expiration period for election service credits represents an important policy change for teachers who render election duties. However, educators' groups maintain that the campaign for higher honoraria, overtime compensation, and improved welfare protection will continue as they seek broader reforms for teachers serving in future elections.