The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it will request Malacañang Palace to retain the P2,000 honoraria given to teachers acting as election officers during the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections on 1 December.
“Atin pong muling idudulog yan sa ating Pangulo na sana po yung P2,000 [honoraria] man lang na natanggal sa mga guro natin ay maibalik dito sa Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE), sapagkat halos parehas naman ang trabaho,” Comelec chairperson George Garcia said in an ambush interview on Friday.
Teachers will also have to report as early as 4 a.m. to polling precincts on 1 December to accommodate senior citizens and persons with disabilities for early voting.
“Kasi magpapa-early voting pa rin naman kami, kung wala pa talaga 'yung Early Voting Law. 4.3 million ang mga kababayan nating nakinabang sa dalawang oras na 'yan na pagboto ng nakatatanda at may kapansanan,” Garcia said.
Garcia said the P2,000 honoraria were already disbursed and given to the teachers, with a 98.4 percent disbursement rate as of Thursday.
“So, ine-expect natin na ngayong araw ay matatapos sa buong Pilipinas ang distribution ng lahat ng honoraria para sa mga guro natin na naglingkod noong araw ng eleksyon. Yun pong additional na P1,000 na ipinagkaloob ng ating Pangulo ay maaaring ma-late madi-distribute kasi hindi po ito nakasabay noong una,” Garcia said.
On Monday, Presidential Communications Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro announced that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has ordered the grant of an additional P1,000 in election honoraria for teachers and other poll workers who served in the 2025 midterm elections, on top of the P2,000 across-the-board increase in election allowance also mandated by the President.
