The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday said it is ready to hold the special polls in the Second District of Antipolo City on March 14, with the printing of the manual ballots to be used will be completed within the week.

“More or less, we are prepared (to hold the special polls). The printing is ongoing and set to be completed this week,” Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said in an interview.

He also acknowledged the support of the local government unit as well as other government agencies.

At the same time, Garcia reported that they will not be able to give additional allowance to the teachers who will serve during the special pols, as the Comelec was not given additional funds.

He said the budget they asked from the Department of Budget and Management was PHP98 million for the political exercise, but they were only given a working budget of PHP70 million-PHP75 million.

“We will not be able to give them an across-the-board increase. We will use our savings for their pay,” he explained.

In the last elections, teachers were given a minimum of PHP9,000 to as high as PHP12,000.

Meanwhile, Garcia said training for teachers will be held in schools instead of hotels, “and their meal allowance will not be that high.”

He said the trainings are needed since not all the teachers are familiar with manual polls. (PNA)