House OK of bill strengthening Comelec field offices lauded
HOUSE Assistant Majority Leader Amihilda J. Sangcopan expressed elation as the House of Representatives approved Monday on third and final reading House Bill (HB) 10579, “An Act Reorganizing the Offices of the Commission on Elections”.
Sangcopan said that as the country veers towards the 2022 national elections, the support to said bill that seeks to strengthen the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Field Offices is not only timely but also relevant.
“This bill seeks to correct what appears to be a long-standing insufficiencies suffered by employees and other personnel of Comelec by upgrading and creating certain positions for its staff, equipping them to be more responsive to the public, and further protect the right of suffrage of Filipino citizens,” Sangcopan, a representative from Anak Mindanao.
Comelec employees have been confronted with the glaring disparities in personnel compensation or remuneration compared to other constitutional commission offices or national agencies in terms of salaries and benefits when both employees being of similar qualifications and equivalent rank.
“Equal pay for equal work has always been one of the cornerstones of public service. The primordial role of the commission in safeguarding our democracy, a constitutional duty, calls for the concomitant obligation on the part of the State to protect its personnel and give to them what is due them,” Sangcopan said.
