EDITORIAL

Instituting measures to make SK, barangay polls credible

The religious group burning money at the Commission on Elections main office in Manila as a “cleansing rite” to “drive away evil spirits” was a dramatic way of telling Comelec officials: Enough with corruption.

With barangay and sangguniang kabataan elections set on Oct. 29, there is need for the Comelec not to embark on partisan politics which had divided the nation after allegations of payoffs and rigging of votes have been exposed.

The Comelec has a huge role to play the coming elections as those who would be elected belong to the grassroots. Barangay and SK officials who would win would become the “backbone” of the nation in terms of governance even as the bigshots in Malacanang or Congress call the shots.

Barangay officials are those who are attuned with the needs of constituents in their jurisdiction. They are the ones who settle disputes ranging from land, peace and order to marital conflicts.

But the teachers are also the unsung heroes particularly during elections. They are the ones who mold the youth to become better citizens. But sadly, in some if not most cases, teachers have been the unwitting victims of politicians and powers that be who either coopted, coerced or bribed them so they would help in rigging elections in their favor.

There is also need for the Armed Forces of the Philippines to ensure security measures for these teachers who could also become innocent targets of warring officials who have protégés running for the barangay and SK polls.

In Northern Luzon, there are a lot of “areas of concern” like those in Abra in the Cordillera and other Region 1 provinces like Ilocos Sur where violence could erupt this coming polls.

It is also a source of concern as according to the Alliance of Concerned Teachers, the Comelec has not yet trained and briefed public school teachers who will serve as chairpersons or members of different boards of elections tellers.

This, considering that there is a little more than a week prior to the elections. Indeed, election duty training is a vital measure in protecting teachers from harassment, intimidation and “legal harassment” since it would provide them with adequate information and guidance in the conduct and procedures for the upcoming polls.

According to Comelec officials themselves, the legally mandated procedures for the barangay and SK polls are very different from the May 14 national elections. That is why it’s crucial that teachers get the proper training so they could serve as efficient election tellers, chairpersons or members.

It may not be too late for the Comelec to act on this, but the electoral body could start the training immediately if it wanted to – unless there is another mysterious agenda in the works.