MANILA, Philippines – A Commission on Elections (Comelec) official has assured teachers’ groups that there is still enough time for poll automation training for the May 10 elections.
 
According to Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal, the poll body has signed a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Education (DepEd) for teachers’ training. The government has also prepared a compensation package for the additional election responsibilities for teachers.
 
“The training will definitely be done. The training module is enough to address the concerns of the teachers,” Larrazabal said in ANC’s E-Leksyon, a voters' empowerment forum on election-related issues, held Friday night at ABS-CBN's Dolphy Theater.  
 
A total of 150 core DepEd officials have already undergone training as of last week, said Larrazabal. Based on the agreement, the teachers’ training will be conducted the whole month of March. 
 
“The details are still being ironed out but the training will definitely be done,” Larrazabal said.
 
More than 200,000 Board of Inspectors (BEIs) will need to undergo teachers’ training in various parts of the country so they can man 76,000 clustered precincts for the country's first nationwide poll automation exercise.
 
Before they become official BEIs, the teachers have to undergo and pass an examination by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to prove they are Information Technology (IT)-capable.
 
Delay in training?
 
Concerns have been raised by various quarters, including among public school teachers, that there may not be enough time left to study the new fully-automated system.
 
“We are basically undergoing 2 trainings: one for the machine and another for manual training as back-up,” Antonio Tinio of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers said during the forum.
 
Tinio explained that field tests done on Wednesday and Friday in select areas of the country showed that problems are mostly on data transmissions and not on the actual counting of votes.
 
“When the machines arrive in our areas, they will be tested for counting, not for transmission,” Tinio said, voicing out one of the teachers’ common worries.
 
According to Larrazabal, the machines will be delivered 7 to 3 days before election day and will be tested in their respective areas first before they are sealed. These will only be opened on election day.
 
Cesar Flores of Smartmatic-TIM added that the list of teachers who will undergo training was recently finalized by the DepEd.
 
The teachers’ training was originally scheduled in January, but due to delays, it was moved to March.
 
‘Very simple’
 
Flores likewise assured teachers that the process is “very simple and does not need deep IT knowledge” on their part.
 
He said training will cover very simple instructions like turning on the power switch, connecting lines, and pushing buttons for data transmission.
 
Smartmatic-TIM will be providing support-technicians to oversee the machines and do basic troubleshooting in case teachers encounter problems.
 
“There will be call centers set up for support. You will be instructed on what the tasks should be and what should be done,” Flores said.
 
He added that transmission problems will be included in the manual and will be taught in a 1-day training with select teachers.
 
“We (Comelec) have already discussed the details with DepEd. People are skeptical, but what is important is that we have consistently coordinated with DepEd and we’re just doing it to prove the skeptics wrong,” Larrazabal said.
 
Teachers’ compensation
 
DepEd says teachers will be paid P4,300 for their election services.
 
Included in the memorandum of agreement between Comelec and DepEd is a provision to “ensure fair compensation for DepEd employees serving in the automated national and local elections.”
 
The members of the Board of Election Inspectors, including the chair, will get P3,000 each plus P300 allotted for  transportation allowance.
 
Another P500 will be given for the inspection, verification, and sealing of book of voters, and another P500 for the inspection, verification, and sealing of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines.
 
Those who will supervise certain precincts like principals, school heads, and education supervisors will receive P3,000.
 
Utility personnel will get P1,500 while members of the Board of Canvassers in the municipal, city, and provincial will get P5,000.
 
There is also a P30-million teacher compensation insurance deal allotted for election-related deaths or injuries.