Comelec begins training teachers to assist in automated polls

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has begun the training of more than 150,000 teachers who will serve as Board of Elections Inspectors (BEI) in the Philippines’ very first automated polls. Some 152,609 of the more than 240,000 BEIs — tasked to help assist voters and count ballots at the precinct level during election day — have begun their two-day training sessions all over the country, Comelec National Capital Region (NCR) Director Michael Deonida said in a phone interview with GMANews.TV. Two out of three members of the BEI are required to attend the two-day training, which will consist of a lecture and an exam to test their understanding of the voting system and the operations of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines, Deonida added. "Nagtuturo muna nung sistema, pero PCOS ang pinakafocus (They are taught the automation system, with the PCOS as the main focus)," he said. Training sessions in batches of 30 participants each are currently being conducted in various venues all over the country, Deonidas said. All training sessions are expected to end on March 23. Despite criticism saying that the training sessions were conducted too late, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez told GMANews.TV that it was just the right time to conduct the seminars. Comelec chairman Jose Melo had also earlier said that it is better to conduct the training now so that whatever they learned will still be fresh in their minds come election day. BEIs attending the training will be given a P2,000 allowance plus food and accommodation during the duration of the training. On election day itself, the BEIs will be receiving P4,300 plus leave credits as pay for their service during the polls. Teachers serving on the BEIs will have an array of new tasks associated with election duty, including distributing and explaining long, multiple-choice ballots to voters and operating the PCOS. A refresher course for the BEIs will be conducted once the elections draw near, Deonida said. In the meantime, the Department of Science of Technology (DOST) personnel will take care of certifying them as IT-capable. The law requires that at least one member of the BEI be certified as IT-capable. Earlier, DOST Undersecretary Fortunato de la Pena said that if a BEI fails to get a 60 percent passing grade, he or she will still be allowed to take the practical exam. If the BEI passes the practical part, he or she will be allowed to re-take the written exam. Once they pass the tests, he said that they will be certified as IT-capable. Each clustered precinct will have at least three BEIs, the Comelec said. There are 76,340 clustered precincts in the May polls. Poll machine supplier Smartmatic-TIM said that it will also be deploying about 48,000 technical support crew to oversee the use of the poll machines. One technician will be assigned for every two precincts. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV