PNP: 11 verified incidents of election violence

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police has recorded 11 incidents of violence determined to be related to the May 12 elections since Jan. 12, when the poll period began.

In a radio interview on Sunday, PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said the 11 election-related incidents were among 39 reports received as of March 28. Five incidents are still being validated, while 23 were not found to be related to the elections at all.

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Fajardo added that, as of March 19, the number of areas found to be concerning during the election has been reduced from 403 to 386. She surmised that the reduction in the areas of concern may be due to swift action by concerned PNP units.

The PNP has been under a heightened security alert since the campaign period for local candidates began on March 28, and all applications for leaves of absence have been canceled. —PNA