To cater to issues and concerns that may arise related to the conduct of the 2022 National and Local Elections, the Department of Education (DepEd) established a 24/7 Election Task Force (ETF) Operation and Monitoring Center.
The ETF, which was set up at the Bulwagan ng Karunungan in the DepEd Central Office in Pasig City, caters to teacher- and school-related issues and concerns that may arise before, during, and after the conduct of the NLE.
The DepEd ETF Operation and Monitoring Center was opened starting at 1 p.m. on May 8 and will close at 5 p.m. on May 10 to guarantee compliance with the enforcement of all orders and instructions relative to the election duties.
“As our stakeholders partake in the National and Local Elections, we want to ensure that we will be able to address the issues and concerns of our personnel rendering services at this time of the year,” Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said.
Briones said that DepEd has been proactively coordinating with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and other agencies involved in the 2022 NLE.
“We call on all our officials and personnel to maintain neutrality, focus on non-partisan public service, and remain a beacon of integrity,” she added.
The Operation and Monitoring Center will also serve as the DepEd institutional link to volunteer organizations, individuals, and partner agencies involved in the conduct of the 2022 National and Local Elections.
The said center will also provide legal, technical, and other assistance to teachers on issues, concerns, and problems that may arise concerning the May 9 NLE and coordinate with other government agencies.
Likewise, the task force members are also tasked to document and report all personnel, teacher, and school-related issues and concerns before, during, and after the Elections.
DepEd ETF Chair and Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del B. Pascua explained that DepEd is one of the national agencies deputized by Comelec to ensure free, orderly, honest, peaceful, and credible elections.
“We will ensure that the Monitoring Center will help our poll workers during election day,” he added.
To effectively provide essential services to the education stakeholders, DepEd-ETF will be divided into five groups, namely Steering Group, Operations, Legal Support Group, Secretariat, Call Center Monitoring Data Base Unit, and Logistics and External Coordination Mobile Unit.
Undersecretary for Field Operations, DEACO, and Palarong Pambansa Secretariat Revsee Escobedo will serve as the Vice-Chair of ETF, while Procurement Management Service Director IV Marcelo Bragado will be the Head of ETF Operations and Legal Support.
To report teacher- or school-related concerns, please call the following DepEd ETF hotline numbers: (02) 638-7530, (02) 638-7531, (02) 634-0222, (02) 631-6033, (02) 635-9817, (02) 632-1368, (02) 632-1369, (02) 632-1370, (+63) 947-525-2827, and (02) 635-0551 (FAX).