ACT Teachers Party-list Representative and Deputy Minority Leader Antonio Tinio has urged the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to formally commit to a substantial increase in the honoraria of teachers and other election workers during deliberations on the poll body’s proposed 2027 budget.

Tinio said teachers’ compensation should be addressed regardless of whether the scheduled Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) in November push through or are postponed anew.

“Whether or not the barangay elections push through, the issue of teachers’ honoraria will remain on the table. If the elections are postponed, the demand for just compensation for our teachers does not disappear. It is far better that this be funded now, in the 2027 budget,” Tinio said.

COMELEC officials disclosed that the agency had already approved a P2,000 across-the-board increase in the honoraria of election workers.

Under the current proposal, the chairperson of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) would receive P12,000, the vice chairperson P11,000, and the third member P10,000.

Similar increases would also be granted to Department of Education Supervising Officials (DESOs) and other support personnel.

However, Tinio called for a higher adjustment, proposing honoraria of P15,000 for BEI chairpersons, P14,000 for vice chairpersons, and P13,000 for members.

COMELEC expressed openness to the proposal and estimated that an additional P2 billion to P2.5 billion would be needed to fund the increase.

“There is unity between this representation, ACT Teachers, and COMELEC Chair Garcia on the urgent need to raise the honoraria of our teachers and other election workers,” Tinio said. “The Commission itself acknowledges that our teachers deserve more, especially amid the crisis that ordinary Filipinos are enduring.”

The lawmaker highlighted the demanding conditions teachers face during elections, particularly in barangay and SK polls, where ballots are counted manually.

“Our teachers render service far beyond an ordinary day’s work. They count ballots by hand until nine in the evening or later, and in many precincts, until dawn. This is precisely why their honoraria must reflect the true burden of election service,” he stressed.

COMELEC committed to including the proposed honoraria increase in its 2027 budget submission to the House Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms. The commission also pledged to defend the additional funding requirement before the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC).

Tinio welcomed the commitment and called on COMELEC to formally submit its data and position paper to support the proposal.

“We await COMELEC’s formal submission, and we in the minority will ensure this commitment is honored. Our teachers have long shouldered the burden of elections—the least the government can do is pay them fairly for it,” he said.