Teachers want insurance for poll duty

Public school teachers called on the government yesterday to provide them additional insurance coverage and ample security for their poll duties in the May 10 elections.

The Alliance of Volunteer Educators (AVE) called on the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) to coordinate their efforts through the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to guarantee the safety of teachers.

AVE pointed out that public school teachers have always been the object of harassment by politicians and their supporters during elections.

"We hope the Comelec and other agencies concerned will ensure the security of all teachers serving in the polling precincts, stop all possible physical attacks against them and expedite the release of their per diem and food and refreshments for the entire voting and manual counting schedule," AVE secretary-general Amang Magsaysay said.

He reiterated their appeal for increased insurance benefits for the teachers serving in the May polls under the coverage of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

"While we pray that no teacher would die or be physically harmed, it would be better to ensure their protection in case such incidents happen," Magsaysay said.

The more militant Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), on the other hand, said teachers should be more prepared in the coming elections which they predicted could be the most violent and disorderly in the country’s political history.

"We foresee the coming elections (this May) to be especially violent and disorderly so we have to be prepared," said ACT secretary-general Raymund Villanueva.

He said ACT was "dismayed, frustrated and angry" with the Comelec and the Arroyo administration after the Supreme Court declared the poll body’s automation contract with a private firm illegal last Tuesday.

"We are dismayed, frustrated and angry with the Comelec and the government of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for their failure to push forward the Philippine electoral process into the 21st century," Villanueva said.

He said the implications of the Supreme Court decision would mean more hardship, more responsibility and more risks to teachers taking their duty as poll officers during the conduct of the May 10 elections.

Villanueva said teachers had been looking forward to he automated tally, which would have meant mean 50 percent less work and risk.

"We hope (now) that the teachers are given enough time to prepare for their poll duty," he said.

Villanueva also called on the Comelec to make sure that election materials should arrive on time before the polling precincts open on May 10. — Rainier Allan Ronda