MANILA – Teachers who volunteered in the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on Monday must have a “timely” tax refund, according to Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara.
Some 300,000 Department of Education teachers and volunteers – mostly Teachers I and II with basic annual salary of P250,000 and below – served as members of Electoral Boards.
Teachers I and II – who have Salary Grade 11, or a monthly base pay of P20,179 – are exempt from income tax, the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act stated.
With a 5-percent withholding tax on their honoraria, the election-volunteer teachers who are Electoral Board chairpersons will get a P350 tax refund while the members will get P300.
A timely tax refund would be a “small thing compared to their sacrifice and the danger they face just to guard our votes,” said Angara, chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.
The Election Service Reform Act provides for the following honoraria: P6,000 for Electoral Board chairperson; P5,000 for Electoral Board members; P4,000 for DepEd supervisor officials; P2,000 for support staff; and an additional P1,000 travel allowance.
For a timely tax refund, the Bureau of Internal Revenue requires the teachers to submit to election officers a sworn declaration that they are employed as teacher with Salary Grade 11.
The DepEd assured that teachers will receive the refund within 15 days from May 14 upon submission of the required sworn declaration.
“Hindi biro ang maging teacher-volunteers sa panahon ng eleksyon,” said Angara. “May mga insidente ng harassment at minsan pa nga buhay na ang nagiging kapalit.”
“Nariyan pa ang pagod sa magdamag na pagbabantay, na oras sana para makipiling ang kanilang pamilya,” he added./PN
