DepEd Memorandum No. 063, s. 2023 : Establishment of the 2023 Department of Education Election Task Force and its Operation and Monitoring Center in Connection with the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections on October 30, 2023

DepEd Memorandum No. 063, s. 2023

Establishment of the 2023 Department of Education Election Task Force and its Operation and Monitoring Center in Connection with the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections on October 30, 2023

 

 

OCT 18 2023

 

DepEd MEMORANDUM

No. 063, s. 2023

 

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 2023 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ELECTION TASK FORCE AND ITS OPERATION AND MONITORING CENTER IN CONNECTION WITH THE BARANGAY AND SANGGUNIANG KABATAAN ELECTIONS ON OCTOBER 30, 2023

 

To:      Undersecretaries

Assistant Secretaries

Minister, Basic, Higher, and Technical Education, BARMM

Bureau and Service Directors

Regional Directors

Schools Division Superintendents

Public Elementary and Secondary School Heads

All Others Concerned

 

1. Pursuant to Article IX-C, Section 2 (4) of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has the power to deputize law enforcement agencies and instrumentalities of the government for the exclusive purpose of ensuring free, orderly, honest, peaceful, and credible elections.

 

2. The Department of Education (DepEd) is one of the national agencies deputized by COMELEC to ensure free, orderly, honest, peaceful, and credible elections through the appointment of public school teachers to serve as chairpersons and members of the Election Board, as well as Technical Support Personnel.

 

3. By virtue of the aforementioned authority granted by COMELEC to DepEd to ensure compliance with and enforcement of all orders and instructions relative to the election duties of DepEd personnel, the 2023 DepEd Barangay and Sanguniang Kabataan Election Task Force (BSK-ETF) Operation and Monitoring Center shall be established. The DepEd BSK-ETF shall join the COMELEC Command Center starting at 1:00 p.m. on October 29, 2023, and ending at 5:00 p.m. on October 30, 2023.

 

4. Usec. Revsee A. Escobedo and Atty. Suzette T. Gannaban-Medina are designated as Chair and Vice-Chair of the DepEd ETF, respectively. They shall create committees and appoint their respective chairs and vice-chairs, with the approval of the Undersecretary and Chief-of-Staff. The creation of such committees and the appointment of their respective chairs and vice-chairs shall be created immediately to ensure DepEd preparedness for the 2023 BSKE.

 

5. The regional and schools/city division offices are enjoined to constitute their BSKETF Committee. The chairs and vice-chairs are instructed to submit a list of five officials/employees who will compose their respective BSK-ETF with corresponding contact details on or before October 23, 2023, to the Office of the Undersecretary for Operations through email at oure@deped.gov.ph.

 

6. Likewise, all regional and schools/city division offices of the Department are authorized to establish their respective BSK-ETF Operations and Monitoring Centers on the same schedules as mentioned above.

 

7. The functions of the BSK-ETF members include, but are not limited to the following:

 

a. Maintain an Operation and Monitoring Center to document and report all teachers and school-related issues and concerns before, during, and after elections;

b. Ensure that teachers are provided with and/or referred to adequate information technical and legal assistance in the course of the performance of their duties as members of the Electoral Board;

c. Serve as DepEd institutional link to volunteer organizations and individuals;

d. Provide close horizontal and vertical coordination and consultation among DepEd, COMELEC, and partner agencies involved in the 2023 BSKE; and

e. Complement the other government agencies' efforts for an honest, orderly, and peaceful elections.

 

8. The conduct of nationwide orientations and training to brief the teachers and officials who are members of the BSK-ETF shall be organized, subject to existing accounting and auditing rules. The orientations and training shall cover the procedures for the conduct of elections, including mall voting and early voting hours for senior citizens and persons with disabilities^{[DepEd OUOPS Memorandum, Conduct of Mall Voting and Early Voting Hours for Senior Citizens and Person with Disability, August 9, 2023]} including what and what not to do before, during, and after the elections, and other election-related concerns. Moreover, all BSK-ETF officials and their members in the central, regional, and schools/city division offices are required to attend the orientation and training, subject to the availability of funds and the approval of their respective executive committee officials, regional directors (RDs), and schools division superintendents (SDSs). The schedule of the orientation and training shall be announced through the issuance of a separate Memorandum.

 

9. The BSK-ETF will ensure that teachers shall be provided with adequate information, technical and legal assistance in the course of the performance of their duties as members of the Election Board, as well as DepEd nonteaching personnel who will serve in the October 30, 2023 BSKE.

 

10. Further, the BSK-ETF Operation and Monitoring Center shall also serve as DepEd institutional links to volunteer organizations, individuals, and partner agencies involved in the conduct of the 2023 BSKE.

 

11. All DepEd officials and personnel, being in the civil service are reminded not to intervene directly or indirectly in any election campaign or engage in any partisan political activity, except to vote.

 

12. The grant of honoraria to officials and personnel who will render services to their respective ETFs shall be subject to existing Commission on Audit rules and regulations, as well as issuances from the Department of Budget and Management relative to the matter. Payments of overtime or grant of compensatory time-off to qualified personnel in the central, regional, and schools/city division offices who will compose the DepEd ETF are authorized, subject to the availability of funds and existing auditing rules and regulations, including applicable Civil Service laws.

 

13. The ETF must ensure that funds are provided to assist in the reported concerns from the field and the conduct of field monitoring.

 

14. For more information, please contact the Office of the Undersecretary for Operations, Department of Education (DepEd) Central Office, Ground Floor Rizal Building, DepEd Central Office, DepEd Complex, Meralco Avenue, Pasig City, or through email at oure@deped.gov.ph or telephone numbers (02) 8631-8492 and 8633-5313.

 

15. Immediate dissemination of this Memorandum is desired.

 

 

By Authority of the Secretary:

 

 

(SGD) ATTY. MICHAEL WESLEY T. POA

Undersecretary and Chief of Staff

 

 

Reference:

DepEd Memorandum No. 062, s. 2023

 

To be indicated in the Perpetual Index

under the following subjects:

 

AUTHORITY

BUREAUS AND OFFICES

COMMITTEES

CENTERS

ELECTIONS

EMPLOYEES

MONITORING

OFFICIALS

ORIENTATION

TEACHERS

 

A full copy of DepEd Memorandum No. 063, s. 2023 below: