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PUBLIC school teachers have it had enough, and they now want the option to refuse election duties where they are usually faced with physical and mental stress, harassment and violence from bitter candidates and their supporters, according to a national teachers' group.
With elections only six months away, the 25,000-strong Teachers Dignity Coalition (TDC) urged lawmakers on Saturday to amend the Omnibus Election Code so that it would not be mandatory for public school teachers to render poll duty.
A bill pushing for this was filed earlier in the Senate, but Congress only has a few weeks to tackle the budget and other priority bills before adjourning for the campaign.
Under the Omnibus Election Code, teachers are supposed to head the Board of Election Inspectors, Board of Election Tellers and the Barangay Board of Canvassers. These bodies are in charge of counting the votes and ensuring that the polls are free, orderly and honest.
TDC national chair Benjo Basas, speaking at the Kapihan sa Sulo forum, said the group wants to make the teachers' work in elections voluntary so that they would have the leverage to ask for more security and commensurate pay.
Basas said teachers need more pay because they tend to be on duty for long hours during elections, and actually begin working on related tasks even before their official shifts start. /INQUIRER
