To ensure that teachers are provided with adequate information as they perform their duties in the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE), the Department of Education (DepEd) has reactivated its election task force and created an operation and monitoring center starting Sunday, Oct. 29.
The establishment of the 2023 DepEd Election Task Force and its Operation and Monitoring Center in connection with the BSKE to be held on Oct. 30 was announced in DepEd Memorandum No. 63 and No. 66, s. of 2023, signed by Education Undersecretary and Chief of Staff Michael Poa.
As explained by DepEd, it is one of the agencies deputized by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to “ensure free, orderly, honest, peaceful, and credible elections” through the appointment of public school teachers to serve as chairpersons and members of the Election Board as well as Technical Support Personnel.
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https://mb.com.ph/2023/10/26/dep-ed-494-662-teachers-to-be-deployed-for-2023-bske
The establishment of BSK-ETF, DepEd said, aimed to “ensure compliance with the enforcement of all orders and instructions relative to the election duties of DepEd personnel.
BSKE-ETF members are tasked to maintain an Operation and Monitoring Center to “document and report” all teachers and school-related issues and concerns before, during, and after elections.
Part of their tasks is to ensure that teachers are provided or referred to “adequate information, technical and legal assistance in the course of the performance of their duties as members of the Electoral Board.
DepEd said the members of the task force will also serve as the agency's “institutional link” to volunteer organizations and individuals, and they are also expected to provide “close horizontal and vertical coordination and consultation” among DepEd, Comelec, and partner agencies involved in the 2023 BSKE.
Moreover, the task force members are tasked to complement the efforts of other government agencies for "honest, orderly, and peaceful elections.”
Meanwhile, DepEd also announced the extension of operations of the BSKE-ETF until Oct. 31.
“The said extension of operations is to ensure that DepEd BSK-ETF can readily assist the Department's personnel serving in the elections, as canvassing of votes may be extended until midnight of the Election Day,” DepEd said.
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