The regional director of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for Negros Island Region, Lawyer Lionel Marco Castillano, has requested that the mayors of Himamaylan and Kabankalan cities cover the honoraria for 841 support staff hired during the 2023 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.
Each staff member was meant to receive P5,000, but payments are overdue.
Castillano admitted an “honest mistake” in hiring support staff for these elections, a practice typically reserved for national elections.
The hiring was not budgeted for, but Comelec Chairman George Garcia has instructed Castillano to find a solution.
The legal opinion from the NIR legal officer aims to allow local government units to pay the honoraria without audit issues, hoping to ensure future participation from teachers in elections.
Source : PhilNews24 | August 27, 2024
