The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) promised to amend its social media guidelines, review election-related red-tagging concerns, and double service credits to teachers who will serve in next year’s polls, ACT Teachers Partylist reported.
Former ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio said COMELEC Chairperson George Erwin Garcia promised to remove the mandatory registration requirement of social media accounts by private individuals that will be used for electoral campaigning.
In a dialogue today, Tinio said Garcia committed to amending the guideline to which the Makabayan coalition earlier expressed opposition.
Comelec Resolution 11064 requires that private individuals or entities register with COMELEC on or before December 13 their social media accounts that will be used for campaigning during the election period.
“The guidelines are clearly overreaching and will have a chilling effect on citizens’ constitutional right to free expression,” Tinio stated.
The Commission en banc will then approve and publish a list of all registered social media accounts, Tinio reported.
Tinio said their dialogue with Garcia also addressed the persistent issue of red-tagging during elections.
“We raised our grave concern about the systematic red-tagging of the Makabayan coalition and the progressive parties under its wing, including ACT Teachers, by state forces during previous electoral exercises. This practice has endangered our members and supporters and undermined fair democratic participation,” Tinio explained.
Tinio said Garcia committed to issuing specific guidelines against red-tagging, in light of the recent Supreme Court decision describing red-tagging as dangerous to the life, security and liberty of victims.
“We hope that, with Chair Garcia’s commitment, COMELEC follows through with a resolution prohibiting red-tagging during elections. This would be a significant step towards protecting progressive parties and candidates from state-sponsored vilification during elections,” Tinio emphasized.
More service credit, honoraria for teachers
In the said dialogue, ACT Teachers also secured commitments from Garcia for enhanced benefits and protection of teachers who will serve in the 2025 national and local elections.
Garcia agreed to double the service credits for teachers from five to 10 days and extend five days of service credits to other government employees serving in elections, Tinio reported.
“This is a significant win for our teachers who have long served as the backbone of Philippine elections. The doubling of service credits and the additional benefits will help compensate for the risks and challenges they face during election duty,” Tinio stated.
Chairman Garcia also committed to implement the previously announced P2,000 increase in honorarium and work towards providing a P1,000 transportation allowance for election day.
Additionally, the Comelec will streamline the process for reimbursing legal and medical expenses of teachers, Tinio announced.
“We welcome these concrete steps to protect our teachers. The removal of the digital signature requirement and the assignment of two additional support staff per precinct will significantly ease their election day duties,” Tinio added.
“These commitments demonstrate recognition of the importance of the service rendered by teachers during elections. We will continue to work with Comelec to ensure these benefits are properly implemented,” Tinio concluded.
Tinio was joined by ACT national chairperson Vladimer Quetua, ACT NCR Union president Ruby Bernardo, MPSTA board member Christian George Eppie, and QCPSTA Vice President for High School Aric Ancheta in today’s dialogue.
