SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian on Friday pushed anew the passage of a bill that seeks to exempt from tax the honoraria, travel allowance, and other benefits granted to poll workers, especially teachers, officials, and personnel of the Department of Education.

Senate Bill 1193, which Gatchalian filed in 2019, aims to amend Section 32 of Republic Act 8424 or the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended, so that poll workers can receive the full amount of their honoraria, travel allowance, and other benefits.

The measure also seeks to exclude poll workers’ honoraria and allowances from gross income.

A five percent tax is currently imposed on poll workers’ election honoraria.

Gatchalian said that teachers bear the brunt of election violence especially in high-risk areas.

During the 2019 midterm elections, some 531,307 teachers, officials, and personnel were deployed in 36,830 poll centers.

“Maliban sa pagpapatuloy ng edukasyon sa gitna ng pandemya, ang ating mga guro, opisyal, at kawani ng mga pampublikong paaralan ay nagsisilbing frontliners upang matiyak ang maayos at malinis na halalan,” the senator said.

“Hindi biro ang trabaho nila mula sa preparasyon hanggang sa bilangan ng mga balota. Kaya maituturing natin itong isang paraan ng pasasalamat para sa kanilang dedikasyon at sakripisyo,” he added.

Under the Election Service Reform Act or Republic Act 10756, the chairpersons of Electoral Boards are each entitled to receive P6,000.

Members of electoral boards receive P5,000 each, Department of Education Supervisor Officials receive P4,000 each, while support staff receive P2,000 each.