Cash cards for poll officers distributed

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) 11 has distributed all cash cards for the teachers who served as election officers, 10 days after the 2018 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) was held.

Comelec 11 spokesperson Krisna Samantha Caballero said all those who served as election officers in Davao region finally received their cash cards on May 28, Monday. She added that the cards were issued before the deadline.

While there may be delays due to the remoteness of some areas, such as Marilog and Paquibato districts in Davao City and in some areas in the provinces, the law provides that the honoraria

should be given within 15 days after polls.

Teachers who served in the previous elections complained that they did not immediately receive compensation for the work they rendered. But here in the region, Caballero said, there were no complaints raised by them.

She added that all those who served as election officers in the BSKE on May 14 earlier signed a document that attested they are willing and able to render work on the elections, which means not a single teacher was forced to do the job.

As to the five percent withholding tax on teacher's honorarium, Caballero said it was the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) notion to implement it on their honorarium. All volunteers have been paid in full for their services, she added.

Electoral board head got P6,000 each, while electoral board members got P5,000 each. The Department of Education (Deped) supervisor officials, meanwhile, were entitled to a P4,000 compensation, while the support staff got P2,000.

Caballero said the region has yet to collect the reports of their district offices as to the numbers of those who voted on the election and those who were proclaimed winners in the respective barangays in Davao region.