The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday appealed to public school teachers to first give the automated system a chance before refusing to serve in the May 2010 elections.

Comelec Chairman Jose A. R. Melo said it is only by trying to serve as Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) in next year’s elections that the teachers will know the difference between the manual and automated system.

“Pagka-successful ang ating automation, hindi na ma-stress out ang mga BEI. They will welcome the duty. Hindi kagaya nung manual,” he said in an interview.

Melo said that because of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines, the work of the BEIs will not be as difficult unlike before.

“Ito pagkatapos ng eleksyon, wala na. Pag closing ng polling time, halos instantaneous, may count na. I think the work of the BEI in an automated election system will be much easier and lighter,” he said.

In the old manual system, BEIs often serve for more than two days because they have to complete the manual counting and physical transmission of ballots from precincts to the Municipal Board of Canvassers.

Melo, however, said he understands if the teachers are having misgivings to serve in next year’s polls because of what they’ve experienced in the past.

“They were exposed to long hours of work aside from harassment. Aabutan pa sila ng times na e-eskortan nila yung balota. Talagang nakakatakot yun para sa teachers,” he said.

Last Saturday, a group of public school teachers urged solons to file a bill amending a provision of the Omnibus Election Code regarding the composition of the BEI. Section 164 of the OEC states that the BEI is composed of a chairman and a poll clerk, “who must be public school teachers.”