MANILA – Electoral violence erupted in the Philippines over the weekend and on Monday after a shooting between two groups linked to mayoral rivals left four people dead and a grenade attack. bullets injured 9 others.
The shooting happened on Sunday in the northern province of Ilocos Sur. Separately, local police in the southern town of Maguindanao said five grenades were fired in a city hall, triggering a gun exchange with police. In Lanao del Sur, video on social media showed people storming into a voting center to destroy ballot boxes and machines. An election official said the government was investigating the incident.
Violence is common in elections in the Philippines, where the government deployed 270,000 police and military personnel on Monday to prevent such attacks.
Tight security is evident in elementary schools being converted into polling stations, and there are reports of voting machines broken and some voters having difficulty identifying their names on the postings. voter sign. At a press conference, Marlon Casquejo, an election official, said the government had counted 143 faulty machines across the country. He said these were mostly “individual problems” and blamed older equipment for the problems.
Later that day, George Garcia, the election commissioner, said more than 1,800 voting machines had malfunctioned and that there were 1,100 backup machines nationwide.
Analysts and election observers have described the race between Ferdinand Marcos Jr and vice president Leni Robredo, as an existential battle for the soul of the country, with consequences that cannot be overstated.
Chester Cabalza, founder of the Manila-based think-tank for International Development and Security Cooperation, says the vote is not just about the next president, but about “choosing between good governance in the a transparent government or the continuity of leadership deceived and revised History.”
Carl Merencillo, a Manila voter who works at a construction company, brought his wife and two young daughters to Ms. Robredo’s last campaign rally in Manila’s financial district on Saturday. By mid-morning on Monday, he voted for “hope,” he said.
“Definitely this is for the kids. This is really a way for me to ensure that the future is brighter for the kids and their generation,” said Mr. Merencillo.
It took between 45 minutes and an hour for voters to cast their ballots at a precinct outside the capital Manila, as the line stretched for about a mile under the intense tropical sun. Officials have been trying to enforce social distancing rules to prevent the spread of Covid-19, but voters have been cramped at many polling stations.
In addition to the top jobs, thousands of local officials, town mayors and senators are also running for elections in the Philippines. There are more than 65 million registered voters in the country – a record – and election officials say polling stations will be open until 7pm
