DepEd election app to facilitate faster monitoring on the ground

ILOILO CITY — Teachers serving as members of the election board can tap a digital platform for help in case, they have issues and concerns that need an appropriate response in line with the conduct of the electoral exercise on Monday.

In a phone interview, Dr. Lea Belleza, Regional Information Officer of the Department of Education in Western Visayas, said on Friday they were informed about the application during their conference in Cebu last May 3.

She said that it is a new system where from the ground, “pressing issues and concerns” related to the conduct of the elections can be communicated directly to the central office.

Dubbed the “DepEd Monitoring Apps”, it has an election menu where “teachers assigned on election day can simply upload reports and photos”, according to the DepEd briefer.

The briefer added that this information is automatically consolidated in the DepEd Central Server “for monitoring, analysis and immediate response”. It will be initially available as a mobile app on Android.

Belleza said there will also be task forces in the division and regional offices of DepEd that will be operational for 24 hours.

The role of the division is to receive issues and concerns from the ground while the regional office will receive consolidated reports and if there is a need for them to intervene.

Nonetheless, Belleza said that all their teachers who will be serving on Monday are ready.

“They are well-oriented of their tasks during the election day and after the turnover of ballots, election paraphernalia and results,” she said.

She added that schools are now ready to be utilized as poll precincts.

Belleza added that in addition to the salary the teachers will receive for serving as members of the Board of Election Inspectors they will also have other benefits such as medical and burial.

“We always pray for the safety and security of our teachers, aside from the peaceful elections,” she said.

“We will always maintain our being apolitical, non-partisan and being neutral this election,” she added.