The Department of Education (DepEd) in Western Visayas is ready, especially its teaching and non-teaching personnel, who will serve on the electoral board in the upcoming 2025 midterm elections.

DepEd regional information officer Hernani Escullar, Jr. said on April 24, that around 2,801 schools and 7,337 classrooms will be used as polling centers across the region.

“For our teaching personnel, we will deploy 35,949 and non-teaching personnel, 2,875,” Escullar said in an interview.

He said around 2,217 other personnel will be deployed on election day to maintain the cleanliness of schools utilized as voting centers.

Escullar added the number includes their personnel who will be serving in Negros Occidental.

DepEd continues to coordinate closely with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in preparation for the elections.

Escullar said a regional election task force will be activated on May 11 at 1:00 p.m., in sync with DepEd’s central office.

Escullar also relayed the message of DepEd Regional Director Ramir Uytico for teachers to serve with honesty and integrity and “uphold professionalism during this time when the vote of every Filipino is sacred.”

“We will make sure that we will protect the sanctity of the votes. We thank Comelec for trusting DepEd when teachers play a vital role during Election Day,” he said.

Meanwhile, Comelec Iloilo Provincial Election Supervisor, lawyer Reinier Layson confirmed preparations are underway for the May 12 polls, with the awaited delivery of automated counting machines, official ballots, and other election materials.

Layson also confirmed that election observers from the European Union (EU) will be deployed in Iloilo.

The EU team met with Comelec on April 23, to gain insights into the country’s electoral process and challenges.

“It’s not the first time EU observers will be present. They have consistently sent teams to monitor Philippine elections,” Layson said. (PNA)