Public school teachers will no longer have to use service credits earned from election duties within three months, after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) scrapped the deadline following concerns raised by the Department of Education and teachers’ groups.

Resolution 11212-A removed the previous three-month limit, allowing teachers to claim and use service credits from election-related work at any time after completing their duties, Education Secretary Sonny Angara said on Wednesday.

Angara welcomed the change, saying teachers often work long hours and face security risks while helping administer elections.

“This is a major relief for our teachers. Serving during elections is no easy task — they endure sleepless nights, exhaustion, and sometimes even danger just to protect the vote of every Filipino,” Angara said.

The new guidelines cover services rendered during national and local elections, Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE), Bangsamoro parliamentary elections, as well as special elections, plebiscites, initiatives, referendums and recall elections.

About 600,000 public school teachers serve as electoral board members and support personnel during elections, according to DepEd.

Lasting credits

Under existing DepEd guidelines, service credits may be granted for work performed during registration and election days when such duties are mandated by law.

One day of vacation service credit is generally granted for eight hours of service beyond a teacher’s regular functions or working hours when overtime or honoraria are not available. 

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) welcomed the Comelec move, calling it another victory for teachers’ collective action to protect and improve compensation and benefits for election duties.

“We will not stand for a situation where public service becomes a matter of life and death, only for workers to be burdened with taxes and shortchanged on their compensation and benefits. This is a victory for our collective action and our steadfast fight for our rights and welfare.,” ACT chairperson Ruby Bernardo said.

ACT said service credits should be treated as compensation for the additional time, work and responsibilities teachers undertake beyond their regular duties, rather than as a privilege.

The group, however, said the Comelec commitment should result in a clear policy ensuring that all earned election service credits cannot expire and can be accumulated without restrictive deadlines.

Angara said DepEd would continue working with Comelec and other government agencies to protect teachers’ welfare, allowances and rights during elections.

Registration may extend

Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia, meanwhile, said that if the BSKE did not push through on 2 November, they may resume voter registration this coming September, adding that it would end in September next year.