Polls may be postponed in typhoon-hit areas

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will assess the impact of typhoon “Juan” in northern Luzon to determine whether the conduct of the Oct. 25 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) polls should be postponed.

In a press briefing, Comelec Chairman Jose Melo said there is a big possibility that the synchronized polls would not push through in some barangays severely affected by the typhoon.

“Expectedly, there are outlying barangays or those that are really remote that had been affected by landslides, for instance. We expect postponement in some places,” he noted.

The Omnibus Election Code allows the Comelec to postpone an election in the event of “force majeur” or when there are circumstances beyond its control, like war, riots, earthquakes and floods.

The law provides that the postponement cannot be longer than 30 days after the original election day.

Melo said that the poll body, in deciding on postponement, would consider the availability of schools as they may have been damaged or are being used as evacuation centers.

“But I think more important is the power supply. If there is no power and the counting lasts until the night, it would be dangerous for the teachers,” he said.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council will brief the Comelec today about the situation in typhoon-affected areas.

DepEd up and ready

Meanwhile, public school teachers who will serve as chairpersons and members of board of election tellers (BETs) and barangay board of canvassers were oriented on their duties in the upcoming manual polls.

The Department of Education (DepEd), one of the government agencies actively involved in the country’s elections, said that aside from the teachers, it has already prepared its administrative and legal officers, and other personnel for their duties and responsibilities through an orientation given earlier by the Comelec.

“Once again DepEd and Comelec are called to election duty to solidify the foundation of our democratic society – the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections. This is an important political exercise because our law gives so much power to our barangay and to our youth. It is therefore important that we also give this election very special attention,” Education Secretary Armin Luistro said in a press statement.

In Memorandum Order No. 449 series 2010, issued by Luistro, DepEd will again set up an Election Task Force Operation Center, which will be the operations hub that will monitor the conduct of the elections.

The Task Force will ensure that teachers are provided with adequate information, technical and legal assistance in the course of the performance of their duties.

It will also serve as DepEd’s institutional link to volunteer organizations and individuals in order to provide close horizontal and vertical coordination among DepEd, Comelec, and partner agencies involved in elections.

The task force will also complement other government agencies’ effort for an honest, orderly, and peaceful election.

The 2010 DepEd Election Task Force Operation Center will be established in the Bulwagan ng Karunungan, DepEd Complex, Meralco Avenue, Pasig City starting 1 p.m. of Oct. 24 and end at noon of Oct. 26.

Kenneth Tirado, DepEd Communications Unit officer, said that around 450,000 public school teachers will serve in the different BETs and barangay BOCs in the coming polls.

The DepEd and Comelec will seek to orient all those who will serve in the coming polls, in the next few days leading to election day.

Extra honorarium for teachers

Both agencies also agreed to ask President Aquino to allocate an additional P1,000 allowance for each of the teachers who will serve in the polls.

Melo said they want to give the teachers honorarium that is almost similar to P3,000 given to them in the May 10 local and national polls, but the Department of Budget and Management had earmarked only P1,000.

The Comelec said it will give an additional P1,000 in compensation to the teachers.

“If we can get an additional P1,000 from the Office of the President that will be at par with the May elections,” Melo noted.

The two agencies signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) yesterday to formalize the teacher’s compensation.

Those who will administer the barangay and SK polls will receive an honoraria of P1,000 per day for a maximum of two days of service. Those who will handle the SK election will get an additional P500.

Under the MOA, half of the honoraria shall be paid upon getting the election paraphernalia before election day, and the balance will be paid when they return the materials. – Sheila Crisostomo, Rainier Allan Ronda