Palace OKs transpo allowance, insurance for teachers

Malacañang on Thursday approved "in principle" two of four demands made by public school teachers doing poll duty in the coming May 14 elections. Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita gave the assurance after a 20-minute meeting with members of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) at his office in Malacañang. QTV-11 television reported that the meeting with Ermita stemmed from a conference the teachers had Thursday with Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. The teachers originally went to the Malacañang area to bring their concerns to Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr but the latter was not in his office. During the meeting, Ermita approved an increase in transportation allowance to P300 and an insurance coverage of P200,000. The teachers initially demanded an additional transportation allowance of P500 and an insurance coverage of P500,000 for election duty. But Ermita did not approve the demands for a daily duty pay of P2,000 for three days of election service, or P6,000; and an additional P1,000 hazard pay. It was not clear if the government will act on the teachers' other demands, which included 10 days' leave credits for each of the three days of election service, and legal assistance if they are sued. Abalos had said he will bring up the two concerns with the Education department. On the other hand, the teachers said the assurances given by Ermita had not taken away their fears of violence and cheating in the May 14 polls. Nonetheless, they assured Ermita they will continue to fulfill their election duty as part of their "obligation." - GMANews.TV