Although it is not in favor of taxing the honoraria of teachers, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it is beyond their jurisdiction.

“Subalit iyan po ay (However, that is) beyond the jurisdiction of the Commission on Elections,” poll Commissioner George Erwin M. Garcia said during an ambush interview, pertaining to the imposition of tax on the honoraria of teachers serving in the upcoming polls.

Garcia noted that Comelec, through its executive director, has written several letters to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), asking the agency not to deduct income tax from the honoraria of teachers.

“Dalawang beses po kaming nag-follow up ng sulat na baka pupwedeng kahit paano man lang ay administratively ay huwag nang pagbayarin ng buwis ang ating pobreng guro (We followed up twice. We asked them that if it is possible, administratively, they don’t make the poor teachers pay taxes),” the poll commissioner said.

“At the same time po, mayroon pa nga po kaming legal opinion na sinubmit po sa Senado, sa mababang kapulungan patungkol sa proposal nila na i-tax exempt ang electoral boards o mga guro (At the same time, we also gave our legal opinion to the Senate, the Lower House regarding their proposal to tax exempt electoral boards or teachers),” he added.

The Comelec, he said, even raised the honoraria of chairperson of electoral boards from P8,000 to P10,000; and of members of the electoral boards from P6,000 to P8,000.

“Subalit kapag sila po ay nabuwisan pa, ang mangyayari po doon mababawasan, at mababawasan na naman. Therefore, ‘yung itinaas po ng Comelec para sa honoraria ng mga teacher ay parang nabalewala rin at napunta bilang buwis po na binabayaran nila (But, if they will be taxed, what will happen is that their honoraria will get lower, and lower. Therefore, the increase given by the Comelec will be worthless and and will be part of the tax they are paying),” Garcia noted.

Comelec is one with the teachers and is also saddened with their situation, he said.

Meanwhile, the Comelec on Wednesday, April 27, inked a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Department of Health, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Education, and Department of National Defense for the conduct of elections in the new normal.

The general objectives of the MOA are to ensure that the minimum IATF health and safety standards for Covid- 19 are observed during election day; provide voters, especially those suffering from a fever of 37.5 degrees Celsius, or exhibiting any symptoms of Covid-19 virus and persons rendering election-related services with free, timely, and effective basic first aid assistance, essential medicines, and access to emergency medical services; and ensure that all risks, hazards, and dangers to health and life that are associated with the 2022 NLE, are prevented/ addressed particularly, the exposure to extremely hot weather during the summer month of May, as well as election-related violence.