More than 800 teachers are expected to be unable to serve as local electoral board members in the 14 September Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) elections, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Sunday, 13 September.

“Sa mga oras na ‘to, 839 na po na mga public school teachers ang maaaring hindi maglingkod sa Lunes at ‘yan po sa kadahilanang iba’t iba,” Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said.

Garcia said the reasons for not participating in the polls include not being able to get their desired polling precincts and being related to candidates or nominees of political parties.

“‘Wag sana naman madagdagan po ‘yung 839 sa kasalukuyan,” he said.

On the other hand, Garcia assured that more than 2,000 Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel are prepared to substitute for teachers who will not be able to participate in the BARMM elections.

“Huwag mag-alala sapagkat sila po ay duly trained,” the Comelec chief said.

Garcia explained that the PNP personnel have been trained and received certifications from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to serve as electoral board members.

At present, the Comelec en banc has not discussed the possibility of imposing sanctions on teachers who will not serve in the polls.

Garcia pointed out that “ang paglilingkod dito sa ating halalan ay hindi po mandatory.”

“Sinsabi po ng ating batas ngayon na ito po ay isang voluntary serbisyo ng mga guro,” he said.

“Kung ayaw po nila maglingkod hindi naman po namin sila pipilitin,” Garcia added.