House OKs bill making poll duty non-compulsory

Under the bill, should there be a lack of teachers willing, available and qualified to serve, the Comelec may appoint any registered voter

THE House of Representatives has approved on final reading, and transmitted to the Senate, House Bill 5412, which makes election service non-compulsory for public school teachers.

The House committee on suffrage and electoral reforms chaired by Fredenil H. Castro and the committee on appropriations chaired by Isidro T. Ungab steered the proposed “Election Service Reform Act,” jointly with its principal authors during the series of debate and interpellation in plenary.

HB 5412 is in substitution to five separate but similar measures filed earlier by, among others: Reps. Antonio Tinio, Regina Ongsiako Reyes, Erlinda Santiago, Eric Olivarez, Lawrence Lemuel Fortun, Leni Gerona-Robredo, Edgar Erice, Harlin Abayon, Nicasio Aliping, Jr, and Emmeline Aglipay Villar.

Castro said the objective of the measure is “to free school teachers from engaging in compulsory election duties as currently practiced and to open up election service to other government employees, members of the Commission on Elections-accredited citizen arms and private citizens of known probity and competence.”

The authors explained that under the bill, should there be a lack of teachers willing, available and qualified to serve, the Comelec may appoint any registered voter in accordance with and order of preference as provided under the proposed statute.

The order of preference stated as follows:

Private school teachers;

Department of Education’s non-teaching personnel;

Other national government officials and employees holding regular or permanent

is positions, excluding members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the Philippine National Police (PNP);

Members of the Comelec-accredited citizens arms and other Comelec-accredited civil society organizations and non-government organization;

Any citizen of known probity and competence who is not involved with any candidate or political party.

It also provides that government employees need not be registered voters of the city or munic- ipality where they wish to serve.

On the other hand, private school teachers, members of citizen’s arms, and other civil society organizations and non-government organizations and any citizen of known probity and competence must be registered voters of the city or municipality where they wish to serve.

However, in cases where the peace and order situation so requires, only members of the PNP and not the AFP may be deputized as members of the Board of Election Inspectors, special Board of Election Inspectors, Board of Election Tellers or the Special Board of Election Tellers.