Absentee voting for midterm polls begins

Voting center for Commission on Elections employees at the Palacio del Gobernador building in Intramuros, Manila. — Photo from Comelec

MANILA, Philippines — Over 57,000 government employees, police and military personnel, as well as members of  media, began casting their ballots on Monday, which marks the beginning of the three-day local absentee voting (LAV) period.

A total of 29,030 military personnel, 23,448 police personnel, 4,206 government employees, and 1,005 members of media who are on duty during the May 12 polls could still exercise their right of suffrage on Tuesday (April 29) until Wednesday (April 30).

READ: Comelec: Legitimate sample ballots okay

Those who opted for LAV can only vote for senators and party-list groups from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and shall no longer be allowed to vote in their regular precincts on election day.

The LAV for government employees was introduced through Executive Order 157 in 1987 and Republic Act 7166, or the 1991 Synchronized Election Law, while media personnel were allowed to do so through Republic Act 10380, enacted in 2013.