DepEd task force to assist teachers, staff with poll duties

MANILA – The Department of Education (DepEd) has established the DepEd Elections Task Force (ETF) Operation and Monitoring Center to assist public school teachers and personnel with their duties in the May 9 polls.

The ETF is one of the Department's initiatives to help the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and ensure free, orderly, honest, peaceful, and credible national and local elections.

“The ETF will ensure that teachers and personnel are provided with adequate information, and technical and legal assistance in the course of the performance of their duties as members of the Electoral Board. This will also serve as DepEd’s institutional link to volunteer organizations and individuals,” said DepEd Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones in a news release on Friday.

In DepEd Memorandum No. 10, s. 2022, Undersecretaries Alain Del Pascua and lawyer Revsee Escobedo were designated DepEd ETF Operations and Monitoring Center chair and vice chair, respectively.

The DepEd ETF will hold central operations at the Bulwagan ng Karunungan of the central office in Pasig City from May 8 to 10 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. to guarantee compliance with orders and instructions relative to election duties.

In addition, all regional and schools/city division offices of the Department are authorized to create their ETF Operations and Monitoring Centers on the same schedule.

“The regional directors and schools division superintendents are instructed to submit a list of five officials/employees who will compose its ETF, with their respective designation, position, salary grade, DepEd email address, and contact information,” Pascua said.

The grant of honoraria to officials and personnel who will render their services to the ETFs shall be subject to the existing Commission on Audit rules and regulations and relative to the department and budget issuance on the matter.

“Payments of overtime pay or grant of compensatory time-off to qualified personnel in the central, regional, and schools/city division offices who will compose the DepEd ETF are authorized, subject to the availability of funds and existing auditing rules and regulations, as well as the pertinent Civil Service laws,” Pascua added.

Nationwide orientations and training for members of the ETF will be organized, covering procedures on the use of digital signatures; enhancement and updates to the mobile monitoring application systems; Covid-19 protocols; do’s and don’ts before, during, and after the elections; and other election-related concerns. (PR)