Filipinos will vote on Monday to choose President Rodrigo Duterte’s successor, a vice president, 12 senators, hundreds of members of Congress and thousands of governors, mayors and city and provincial councilors.
The presidential election is shaping up to be 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 signed him up. narrowly beaten in the 2016 vice-presidential race.
Three months of divided campaigning came to an end on Saturday, with Marcos and Robredo making last-minute attempts to sway undecided readers with patriotic and upbeat messages.
“A day before the actual election takes place, we consider our preparation and the situation to be relatively peaceful,” Philippine National Police spokesman Jean Fajardo said at a press briefing.
Police have recorded 16 election-related offenses since the start of the campaign, including two cases of shootings between supporters of rival local candidates in the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Ilocos Sur, it said.
“These are good indicators, these are good numbers,” Ms. Fajardo said, comparing the police data with the 133 cases recorded during the 2016 general elections and the 60 cases recorded during the midterm polls in 2019.
Police also recorded more than 3,000 arrests related to the election ban on the carrying of firearms, also significantly lower due to what Fajardo described as an intensive campaign to confiscate bulk firearms that could be used by private armed groups.
Saturday’s latest campaign ended without Duterte endorsing a presidential candidate, but his political party backs Marcos and Duterte’s daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio, who is Marcos’ running mate.
Both have maintained a comfortable lead over their rivals, according to opinion polls.