Quezon City teachers acting as Election officers receive and prepare ballot boxes and other election materials to be used in their respective precincts at the Quezon City Hall on October 29, 2023, the eve of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File 

MANILA —   ACT Teachers Party-List chairperson Antonio Tinio said the groups welcome the increase in the honoraria and service credits of teachers serving in the 2025 elections.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has included a P2,000 increase in the honoraria of teachers who serve as poll workers in its 2025 proposed budget.

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Tinio made the statement after his dialogue with Comelec Chairman George Garcia where concerns of teachers’ compensation, benefits and security were discussed —  as well as the teacher group’s desire for a mechanism that can help reimburse the teachers' legal and medical expenses.

He called on Congress to restore the P14 billion that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) slashed from the Comelec budget, saying it will allow teachers to receive additional transportation allowance on the election day.

“Ang positive dito ay regarding honorarium. may P2,000 increase na madadagdag dito. Kailangan pa ilaban, particularly, nasa Senate ang budget ngayon, na possibly may another P1,000 na maidagdag pa as transportation allowance on the day of election. So itutulak natin 'yan especially during the Senate deliberation and the bicam," Tinio explained.

(The positive development here is the P2,000 increase in the honorarium. We are still pushing for a possible P1,000 as transportation allowance on the day of election.)

ACT Teachers has one seat at the House of Representatives. Tinio, a former party-list representative, is ACT Teachers' first nominee in the 2025 elections.

He added that teachers will also be getting 10 days of service credit for being poll workers, up from five days, which he called a major improvement.

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“A very fruitful and insightful meeting. Teachers' welfare during election is a must. No ifs and buts,” Comelec Chairman Garcia said in a message to reporters.

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On the Comelec’s social media guidelines requiring candidates to register social media accounts, Tinio said Garcia committed to remove the requirement for private individuals to register social media accounts.

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Garcia, he mentioned, also committed to issuing guidelines against red-tagging especially in light of recent Supreme Court decisions on the matter.

“We appreciate na ni-recognize ni Chairman Garcia, kahit 'yung Supreme Court recently may mga rulings na kinikilala or sinasabi na mali itong red-tagging, lalo na, pag ginagawa ng gobyerno and therefore maglalabas sila ng guidelines kaugnay dito,” Tinio said.

 (We appreciate that Chairman Garcia recognized that red-tagging is wrong, especially when done by government, so they will release guidelines on that)

Tinio thanked Garcia for his openness to addressing the group’s various concerns, adding the Comelec chief was "generally open and receptive" to concerns that ACT Teachers raised.