Security forces on alert as Filipinos vote in village polls

Security forces were on high alert across the Philippines on Monday as millions of people voted for village leaders following months of deadly poll-related violence.

More than 336,000 council positions were up for grabs in the long-delayed nationwide vote, including the influential post of village captain.

While villages are the lowest-level government unit, the council posts are hotly contested because they are used by political parties to cultivate grassroots networks and build a support base for local and general elections.

More than 300,000 police officers and soldiers have been deployed to secure polling stations in over 42,000 villages.

Elections are a traditionally volatile time in the Philippines, which has lax gun laws and a violent political culture.

In the run-up to Monday’s vote, there were 30 confirmed incidents of election-related violence, compared with 35 in 2018, the Philippine National Police said Sunday, without providing an updated breakdown for the number of dead and injured.

Previous police data showed eight people had been killed and seven injured in poll-related violence between August 28 and October 25.

In one incident on October 23, two candidates for village councilor and one of their supporters were shot dead in Cotabato City on the restive southern island of Mindanao as they hung campaign posters, police said.

In neighbouring Maguindanao del Norte province, two schools to be used as polling stations were deliberately set on fire on Saturday, Commission on Elections chairman George Garcia told reporters Sunday.

More than 67 million people are registered to vote.

Voters will choose a village captain and seven councilors responsible for implementing national policies, resolving neighbourhood disputes and providing basic public services.

Village captains typically play a key role in getting votes for city, provincial and national politicians contesting local and general elections.

“If there is patronage politics, the barangays (villages) will be used by higher-level local politicians to actually disseminate funds and other favours to secure votes,” said Maria Ela Atienza, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines.

Village elections are supposed to be held every three years, but the last vote was in 2018.

They were postponed by former president Rodrigo Duterte and then his successor Ferdinand Marcos on the grounds the government could not afford them. (BSS/AFP)