BUZZ BEAT MEDIA

The Department of Education (DepEd) on Tuesday lauded the bravery, commitment, and civic spirit of public school teachers and personnel who served during the 2025 National and Local Elections (NLE).

Over 660,000 DepEd personnel were among the 758,549 poll workers deployed nationwide, helping ensure the safe, fair, and orderly conduct of the elections in thousands of polling precincts across the country.

“Salamat po sa lahat ng guro, poll workers, at school staff na tumulong at nagbantay sa halalan. Mula simula hanggang matapos, and’yan kayo—hindi bumitaw,” said Education Secretary Sonny Angara. “Saludo po kami. Dahil sa inyo, naging maayos at safe ang proseso. Kayo ang tunay na ka-team sa Bagong Pilipinas—laging handa, laging para sa bayan.”

The DepEd Election Task Force (ETF) operated a 24/7 command center in Makati City from May 11 to 13, coordinating real-time field reports and providing support to personnel on the ground. In total, the ETF received 603 election-related incidents.

Most of the concerns were resolved at the regional and division ETF counterparts while some were endorsed to COMELEC for appropriate action.

Most reports came from Region IX, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), and the National Capital Region (NCR). Common issues involved vote counting machine malfunctions, irregularities in ballots and receipts, and voter list concerns.

Despite these incidents, DepEd said the elections remained largely peaceful, echoing the overall assessment of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and other government agencies.

“In line with the assessment of the COMELEC and other agencies, we can say that overall, the elections were conducted smoothly,” said Undersecretary Malcolm Garma, chair of the DepEd ETF.

DepEd continues to underscore the critical role of teachers in upholding the democratic process and reaffirmed its commitment to support them every step of the way.

“These are not just public servants,” Secretary Angara said. “They are frontliners of democracy.”

*All Photos from DepEd