Teachers overtime pay for election duty not in the budget, says Comelec chief

By: Jean Mangaluz - 6 months ago

Commission on Elections chair George Erwin Garcia casts his vote for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Election (BSKE) at the Banaba Cerca Integrated School in Indang, Cavite on Monday, October 30, 2023. | Photo from Comelec

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) cannot give overtime pay for teachers who served as poll watchers in the elections, according to Chairman George Garcia.

The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) had appealed to the Comelec to grant teachers overtime pay for working non-stop for more than 24 hours.

“In as much as we would like to give, however, there is this joint COA-DBM (Commission on Audit – Department of Budget and Management) circular which provides that only employees of an agency [are] entitled to claim overtime. The teachers who served as electoral board members are not employees of Comelec,” Garcia told reporters on Thursday when asked about the TDC’s request.

Garcia also said that a budget was not provided for such items.

The TDC has appealed to allow overtime pay for teachers, saying that some have reached around 30 hours of work for the elections.

“Many of our Department of Education employees work beyond 24 hours and are thus entitled to overtime pay,” TDC Chair Benjo Basas said.

INQUIRER.net has reached out to the Department of Education and the Department of Budget and Management for further comment, but neither have responded as of writing.