2,894 teachers get honoraria for election service
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has started releasing honoraria for the 2,894 teachers who served the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials in Cagayan de Oro.
City Comelec Officer Ramil Acol said the honoraria are released through cash cards which will be distributed to all the teachers who were chairpersons and members of electoral boards in various polling precincts.
As of this writing, Acol said they have released half of the cash cards and the distribution is expected to be done today, May 22.
Based on Republic Act 10756 or the Election Service Reform Act, poll workers are entitled to the corresponding honoraria: Chairperson of the Electoral Boards, P6,000; Members of Electoral Boards, P5,000; Department of Education Supervisor Official P4,000 and Support Staff P 2,000.
They are also entitled to a travel allowance of PHP 1,000 each.
However, the honoraria are not “tax-free” as requested by a group of teachers here last week.
The Comelec explained that the imposition of tax on the honoraria is not a Comelec decision, but the call of the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
There has been no issued order to stop the implementation of the said BIR circular which imposed the tax on the election honoraria.
“It is still with tax but those having an annual gross income of P250,000 are tax exempt,” Acol said.
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) in Northern Mindanao meanwhile is saddened that their call for a taxfree honorarium has fallen into deaf ears.
The teachers group said they will continue to call for tax-free honoraria and hoped it will be implemented in the next elections.