• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
More support staff of the Commission on Elections, who rendered poll duties during the October 30 synchronized barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in Negros Occidental, remained unpaid.
Aside from 660 Comelec support staff, who rendered election duties in Kabankalan City and are yet to be paid their honorarium, others who also did the same job in Himamaylan City also remain unpaid, as of this time.
Comelec regional director Atty. Dennis Ausan of Western Visayas yesterday said that they have already submitted their investigation reports on the unpaid Comelec support staff in the cities of Himamaylan and Kabankalan to the Comelec central office.
Ausan, however, refused to provide specific details on the unpaid Comelec support staff in Himamaylan City.
But he said it is now in the hands of the Comelec central office, on how the issues and concerns will be addressed.
Mayor Rogelio Raymund Tongson said he was already informed about the unpaid Comelec support staff who rendered election duties in Himamaylan City.
If we can do anything on our side, we are ready, for as long as there is a legal basis, he stressed.
Comelec owes about P3.7 million to 660 support staff in Kabankalan City, Mayor Benjie Miranda disclosed earlier.
Comelec spokesman Atty. John Rex Laudiangco said the Comelec has taken the proactive step of paying the honoraria of all 660 BSKE 2023 support staff in Kabankalan City.
Each support staff is entitled to receive P5,500 as honorarium for the election services rendered, according to Laudiangco.
In a statement, he also said that an investigation is now underway to determine the administrative or criminal liability of the Comelec field officers involved in the incident.*
