DepEd offers 24/7 ‘Election Task Force’ support for teachers
PASIG CITY – The Department of Education (DepEd) establishes a 24/7 “Election Task Force” (ETF) Operation and Monitoring Center at the Bulwagan ng Karunungan, Central Office to cater to teacher and school-related issues and concerns that may arise before, during, and after the conduct of the 2022 National and Local Elections.
The DepEd ETF Operation and Monitoring Center will be opened starting at 1:00 p.m. from May 8 until 5:00 p.m. on May 10 to guarantee compliance with the enforcement of all orders and instructions relative to the election duties.
“As our stakeholders partake in the National and Local Elections, we want to ensure that we will be able to address the issues and concerns of our personnel rendering services at this time of the year,” DepEd Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said.
“The Department of Education has been proactively coordinating with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and other agencies involved in this endeavor. We call on all our officials and personnel to maintain neutrality, focus on non-partisan public service, and remain a beacon of integrity,” she added.
The Operation and Monitoring Center will also serve as the DepEd institutional link to volunteer organizations, individuals, and partner agencies involved in conducting the 2022 National and Local Elections (NLE).
The said center will also provide legal, technical, and other assistance to teachers on issues, concerns, and problems that may arise with the May 9 NLE and coordinate with other government agencies.
Furthermore, the task force members are also tasked to document and report all issues and concerns before, during, and after the NLE.
“The Department of Education (DepEd) is one of the national agencies deputized by Comelec to ensure free, orderly, honest, peaceful, and credible elections. We will ensure that the Monitoring Center will help our poll workers during election day,” DepEd ETF Chair and Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del B. Pascua said.
To effectively provide essential services to the education stakeholders, DepEd-ETF will be divided into five groups, namely Steering Group, Operations, Legal Support Group, Secretariat, Call Center Monitoring Data Base Unit, and Logistics and External Coordination Mobile Unit.
Undersecretary for Field Operations, DEACO, and Palarong Pambansa Secretariat Atty. Revsee Escobedo will serve as the Vice-Chair of ETF, while Procurement Management Service Director IV Atty. Marcelo Bragado will be the Head of ETF Operations and Legal Support.
To report teacher or school-related concerns, DepEd ETF can be reach through the following hotline numbers: (02) 8638-7530, (02) 8638-7531, (02) 8634-0222, (02) 8631-6033, (02) 8635-9817, (02) 8632-1368, (02) 8632-1369, (02) 8632-1370, (+63) 947-525-2827, and (02) 8635-0551 (Fax).
