The Commission on Elections (Comelec) assured the public Wednesday, May 4, that it will thoroughly review the recommendation of the Department of Education (DepEd) to exempt from tax duties the allowance that will be given to teaching and non-teaching personnel who will render election duties.

Comelec Chairman Saidamen Pangarungan said the recommendation of DepEd will be submitted to the Comelec en Banc for deliberation.

“This recommendation from DepEd will be promptly acted upon. Comelec is a collegial body so we will submit this to Comelec en banc for appropriate action,” he said.

Aside from this, the poll body will also address the petition of some sectors to increase the benefits of DepEd personnel who will be deployed for the elections next week.

Various groups advocating for the welfare of teachers led by the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) have called on the Comelec to exempt the travel allowance of DepEd personnel that will act as Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) from the planned 20-percent tax deduction by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)

They also called on the Comelec to provide additional allowances to all DepEd personnel who were tapped for election duties.

Groups expressed concern that if their pleas fell on deaf ears, some personnel might back out from their duties.

Buit Pangarungan allayed their concerns as he said that they were aware of the plight of the DepEd personnel who have to carry the additional weight of ensuring an honest, fair, and peaceful election.

He added that the Comelec is prepared to augment their personnel should some teachers decide to withdraw from their election duties.

“This will be acted upon by election officers in those areas where the BEIs composed of personnel from DepEd refused to serve. We have an alternative for that,” the Comelec chairman said.

“The PNP has trained some police personnel to act as members of BEI. For example in BARMM [Bangsamoro Autonomous Islamic Region in Muslim Mindanao, I was informed that the PNP has trained more than 1,600 police officers in case the BEIs back out because of fear or intimidation,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Comelec will also review all the petitions that were filed before them to disqualify candidates in local elective posts.

“There were so manu petitions that were filed in Comelec divisions and we will review all of them. Later on, the decision could be used as a subject for motion for reconsideration for it to be elevated to the jurisdiction of the Comelec en banc,” Pangarungan explained.