L-R: Philippine Information Agency 7 Regional Head Fayette Riñen, DOST-7 Assistant Regional Director for Technical Operations Dr. Tristan L. Abando, and DOST-7 Regional Director Engr. Jesus Zamora, Jr. during the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas in Cebu City. (PIA7)
CEBU CITY – A total of 12,566 public school teachers in Central Visayas have been certified by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Region 7 to serve as the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) for the coming May 12 polls.
This translates to 92.78 percent of the total number of teachers in the region who took the theoretical and practical examinations administered by the DOST to test their readiness to serve during the eleccions.
The region’s passing rate is higher than the national passing rate of 91.96 percent as of March 19, 2025.
DOST7 clarified that their role during the elections is only to administer the examination and issue certifications to teachers who passed the test after undergoing the training conducted by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on the use of the vote-counting machines.
“Ang buhaton man gud ana is i-train sila sa Comelec. Kami mao’y mo-certify og nakat-on ba sila… examinon namo sila og mopasar ba sila sa paggamit kadtong machine,”explained DOST-7 regional director Jesus Zamora, Jr.
(The teachers are trained by the Comelec. So we only certify whether they’ve learned. We’ll examine them and see if they pass the test on the use of the machine.)
Under Republic Act No. 9369, DOST is directed to certify teachers equipped with theoretical and practical training on the operating automated election system (AES) or the automated counting machine (ACM).
DOST-7 assistant regional director for technical operations Dr. Tristan L. Abando said that under the law, the BEIs are expected to be information technology-capable or “computer savvy.”
Abando added that there are enough machines that can be used for the teachers to practice.
“After sa ilang training, dako sila’g oras nga makahands-on gyud og practice before the practical exam so sa tan-aw nako, confident gyud kasagaran tungod kay maka-practice man gud sila,” Abando said.
(After their training, they have ample time to practice before the practical exam. So in my opinion, they are usually very confident because they can really practice.)
He also described the new ACM as an improvement from the old vote-counting machines as it is easier to navigate.
“Based pud sa akong observation, daghang improvement pud sa ACM or sa machine kay sa miagi pud like sa 2016, ang machine karon kay naa siya’y mga prompts nga sauna pangitaunon pa sa teachers… kumbaga, mas user friendly karon,” said Abando.
(Also based on my observation, there are many improvements in the ACM or the machine compared to the past like in 2016. The machine now has prompts that teachers can easily find, unlike before… in other words, it is more user-friendly now.)
With the establishment of the Negros Island Region (NIR), Comelec7 now only covers the provinces of Cebu and Bohol, which has a total of 5,662 clustered precincts. (Jositte Ann Tista / PIA7)
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