Comelec to investigate teachers’ last-minute withdrawal from election duties

The Commission on Elections said on Thursday that the agency will conduct an investigation on teachers who refused to turn over election paraphernalia after their last-minute withdrawal from election duties during the 2023 Barangay and Sanguniang Kabataan Elections.

"Those who withdrew prior to the elections, we respect their decisions as it is an absolute right. Election-day duty is not mandatory for teachers. But what about those very, very few who on the day of the elections, when the precincts already opened, suddenly withdrew without any notice whatsoever," Comelec Chairman George Garcia said in a Viber message to reporters.

Garcia added that they will investigate the teachers' refusal to turn over the paraphernalia to prevent similar incidents in the upcoming elections.

"Complicating this is their refusal to turn over the election paraphernalia to their replacements for no known reason. This must be investigated to prevent similar incidents from happening as things like this may endanger future electoral exercises," he added.

Garcia stressed that the withdrawal of service on the day of the election is unacceptable but the agency will give them the benefit of the doubt.

"We want to give them the benefit of the doubt because we want this to be investigated to prevent this from happening in the future. The filing of cases is just secondary to the main purpose of the investigation,"

Preventing the politicians from threatening teachers who will serve in the upcoming elections is one of the goals of the investigation.

Garcia added that the Comelec will let the Bangsamoro Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education or the Department of Education handle the teachers who face administrative cases.

The chairman explained this after the Teachers' Dignity Coalition urged the poll body to identify the circumstances why the teachers withdrew on a case-by-case basis.

"The Comelec must know, on a case-by-case basis, why some teachers suddenly withdraw. We are talking about the same areas that the Comelec has traditionally placed under its control during elections. If the teachers in these areas believe that security is inadequate, then it is a failure of the government," the teachers' group said in a statement.

"However, if it can be established that these teachers only intend to sabotage or delay the election, which is very unlikely, then they may be held accountable. But if they withdrew because they felt an imminent threat to their life, health, and safety, the Comelec should recognize it. Poll duties are not compulsory after all," it added.

Garcia pledged on Tuesday to file both criminal and administrative charges against teachers and police officials who allegedly backed out of election duty at the last minute.

Garcia said that around 2,530 teachers backed out of their voluntary election day service in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.