Situation ‘peaceful’ as voting nears

MANILA: Philippine police said yesterday the country’s overall situation ahead of the May 9 general election remained “relatively peaceful”, despite some shooting incidents and other pollrelated offences that they consider to be isolated.

Filipinos will vote today to choose President Rodrigo Duterte’s successor, a vice president, 12 senators, hundreds of congressmen, and thousands of governors, mayors and provincial and city councillors.

The presidential election is shaping up as a rematch between Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, the son and namesake of the country’s late dictator, and incumbent Vice President Leni Robredo, the human rights lawyer who narrowly beat him in the 2016 vice presidential contest.

Three months of divisive campaigning ended on Saturday, with Mr Marcos and Ms Robredo making last-ditch bids to sway undecided voters with patriotic, upbeat messages.

“One day before the conduct of the actual election, we are considering our preparation and the situation as relatively peaceful,” Philippine National Police Spokesperson Jean Fajardo said in a media briefing.

The police have recorded 16 electionrelated offences since the campaign season began, including two cases of shooting incidents between supporters of rival local candidates in Nueva Ecija and Ilocos Sur provinces, she said.

“These are good indicators, these are good numbers,” Ms Fajardo said, comparing the police data with the 133 recorded cases during the 2016 general election and the 60 recorded cases during the 2019 mid-term polls.

The police have also recorded more than 3,000 arrests related to the election ban on carrying firearms, also substantially lower because of what Ms Fajardo described as an intensive campaign to confiscate loose firearms.

Saturday’s final push ended without Mr Duterte endorsing any presidential candidate, but his political party is backing Mr Marcos and Mr Duterte’s daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio, who is Mr Marcos’s running mate.

Both remained well ahead of their rivals, based on opinion polls.

AFP Presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr greets supporters during the last day of campaign rallies, at Paranaque City in suburban Manila, on Saturday.