Kabankalan Mayor Benjie Miranda denied on Monday, Nov. 13, that he promised to pay the honoraria of more than 600 support staff hired by the Commission on Elections to serve during the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) in his city.
It was the Comelec that hired them and the total amount needed for their honoraria is P3.7 million, he said.
“The Comelec admitted that the hiring of the support staff was an honest mistake. Unlike in the national and local elections, hiring of support staff is not allowed in the BSKE,” Miranda said.
Provincial Election Supervisor Ian Lee Ananoria said he could not comment on the matter as it is under investigation by the Comelec regional office.
The investigation may be concluded within the week, he said.
Miranda said the Kabankalan election officer asked if the city government could help pay the support staff. However, the city does not have a budget allocation and legal basis for the payment of such a large amount, he said.
If the amount needed was about P25,000 to P100,000 he could help from his personal funds, but not for P3.7 million, Miranda said.
Miranda said he has not closed his door to helping but the legal basis for doing so needs to be established.
Miranda said he heard the problem of unpaid support staff has also occurred in two other local government units.
Each support staff is reportedly entitled to a P5,500 honorarium.*