Paranaque teachers twit Comelec threat

A militant teachers’ organization warned the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday from making "blanket accusations" against teachers who serve during elections.

"The court of public opinion will decide and they can’t win," said Raymund Villanueva, spokesperson of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT).

Villanueva said accusations and threats, such as the one made by Comelec Commissioner Ressurreccion Borra, are the reasons why teachers are against doing poll duties imposed on them by the law.

"Ours is a thankless job. Wala rin naman kaming pakinabang sa eleksyon. What’s P800 for the service we render?" he said.

Last Tuesday, Borra said the more than 200 Parañaque City who walked out of their poll duties Monday could be jailed if found guilty of violating the Omnibus Election Code.

The teachers boycotted the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections after Parañaque election officer Calixto Ramos changed their precinct assignments at the last minute.

Villanueva said ACT officials accompanied the teachers to the Department of Education (DepEd) to seek assistance from the department’s legal department.

He admitted that the boycott was a "spontaneous" act of the teachers. "Because of this, they did not have the benefit of legal advice."

"But we are standing by the teachers and our lawyer is ready to defend them," Villanueva said. "The legal arena would be the Omnibus Election Code. But we maintain that there was no due process in the change of assignments. There was no consultation made with the teachers."

Moreover, he claimed that the Comelec violated its own rules when it promulgated a resolution last June 13 that says members of the Board of Election Tellers (BET) would be appointed not later than May 31.

"I don’t think this is retroactive," Villanueva said.

The date of appointment is contained in Section 6 Article III of Resolution No. 4846, signed by Acting Chairman Rufino Javier, and Commissioners Luzviminda Tancangco, Mehol Sadain, and Borra.

Ramos had defended his decision to reshuffle the teachers’ assignments, saying it was done to prevent poll fraud. He said before the elections, he received reports that certain teachers have been allegedly paid off by certain candidates. – Nikko Dizon