Quezon City: Nearly 13,000 police personnel have already cast their votes after two days of local absentee voting (LAV), the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Tuesday. In a press conference at Camp Crame, PNP information chief Col. Randulf Tua±o reported that of the 12,849 cops who had already cast their votes, 11,891 are assigned to the Regional Police Office (PROs) and 958 are stationed at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

According to Philippines News Agency, 24,848 PHP personnel availed of LAV, but the Commission on Elections approved only 21,223 for the April 28-30 local absentee voting. Tua±o expressed hope that the remaining 8,374 cops would be able to cast their votes on the LAV's final day.

Tua±o provided specific data, noting that at the national headquarters, 958 of 1,471 have already cast their votes, accounting for 61.52 percent. At the police regional offices, 11,891 of 19,572 have cast their votes, representing 60.20 percent. The three-day local absentee voting allows police, soldiers, media workers, and other frontline government workers who would render election day duties to vote ahead of time, ensuring their participation in the democratic process.

Additionally, Tua±o highlighted that the PNP has tallied 35 validated election-related incidents (ERIs), two weeks before the May 12 mid-term national and local elections. He mentioned that seven other incidents are still being confirmed as ERIs. The 35 validated ERIs occurred in various regions: Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) with 11 ERIs; Bangsamoro Administrative Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) with eight; Calabarzon (5); Zamboanga Peninsula (3); Western Visayas (2); Davao Region (2), Ilocos Region (1), Central Luzon (1), Eastern Visayas (1) and Soccsksargen (1).

PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil earlier emphasized the police force's commitment to ensuring a peaceful and credible electoral process.