Teachers to undergo training for poll duty

Teachers who will be part of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) will undergo training for the coming elections from March 1 to 31.

Lawyer Eliseo Labaria, Cebu Provincial election supervisor, said the BEI training in Cebu will take longer than those in other provinces because there are more teachers here.

“Other provinces will finish their trainings before Holy Week. We will take a little longer here, but we will be done by the end of March,” he told reporters yesterday.

There are a total of 12,198 inspectors in the province, but only 8,132 of them will undergo training. There are 4,066 polling precincts in Cebu province.

He said one BEI chairman and one poll clerk from each polling precinct will be trained in batches by one election officer.

Labaria said the training will focus on general instructions on the conduct of polls, including the voting process, transmission and the filing of election returns.

This year, teachers who will be serving as BEIs will receive P2,000 more in honorarium from the Commission on Elections (Comelec). The BEIs honorarium will now increase to P6,500.

Labaria said local government units may also choose to give honoraria to the teachers, but they have to inform the Commission on Audit (COA) about it.

Comelec will hold trainings for members of the Board of Canvassers in April.