Comelec Cebu City set to distribute honorariums of poll workers

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Cebu City is set to release honorariums to all teachers from public and private schools who served as poll workers during the May 9, 2022 national and local elections.

Marilou Paredes, acting election officer of Cebu City South District, told reporters on Friday, May 13, that the Comelec will begin its payout on May 23.

Paredes said for the south district alone, the Comelec has allocated P25 million for the poll workers’ honoraria.

According to Paredes, chairpersons of the electoral boards will receive an honorarium worth P7,000, while the poll clerk and member will receive P6,000 each, and the support staff will get P3,000.

On top of their honoraria, poll workers will also receive a transportation allowance worth P2,000, and communication and anti-Covid allowance worth P500 each.

Paredes said poll workers should present their appointment papers as proof that they rendered service during the election together with corresponding Bureau of Internal Revenue forms for taxes.

Manila-bound

The election officer also mentioned that they are now preparing for the delivery of documents such as copies of election returns, minutes of the election, secure digital or SD cards, and other important documents.

Paredes said these will be transported to Comelec’s central office in Manila on Saturday, May 14.

However, the local polling body is having a dilemma after finding out that some teachers failed to forward the required documents to their office.

Paredes said the documents were placed by the teachers inside ballot boxes that were already sealed and cannot be opened.

An authority to open the ballot boxes coming from the Comelec’s central office is necessary before they can access the boxes to avoid suspicions of fraud, said Paredes.

The election official said the teachers were possibly so tired that they forgot the procedure.

The general elections this year started early at 6 a.m. to prevent long lines at voting centers, but this still occurred in some areas in the country as some vote counting machines malfunctioned.

Voting centers closed at 7 p.m., but electoral boards allowed voters to cast their votes beyond the deadline as long as they were in the vicinity of their precincts.