CEBU CITY — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Cebu Province is in need of Board of Election Tellers (BET) for the coming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.
This, after the Election Service Reform Act (R.A. No. 10756) was signed into law in April of 2016 giving public school teachers the option not to serve as members of the Electoral Board, said Provincial Election supervisor Lionel Marco Castellano on Thursday.
Castellano said 90 percent of public school teachers are women, who may not be assigned in areas with security concern or far-flung barangays as stipulated in the Implementing Rules and Regulations of R.A. No. 10756.
Castellano said majority of the female teachers previously assigned in the mountain barangays and far-flung areas have already begged off from serving as BETs in the coming May elections.
“We really need BET volunteers as the number of clustered precincts in Cebu Province has also increased for this year’s elections,” Castellano added.
From 4,066 clustered precincts in the 2016 elections, Cebu Province now has 5,722 clustered precincts in the upcoming polls with 2.6 million voters.
The provincial election supervisor said private school teachers, national government employees, members of Comelec-accredited citizens’ arms, and any private citizen can serve as election officers provided they are registered voters and without political affiliations. (PNA)
