MANILA, Philippines — Commission on Elections (Comelec) offices are now open for the three-day Local Absentee Voting (LAV) for the May 13 midterm polls.
James Jimenez, Comelec spokesman, said they expect a 50-percent voter turnout for the LAV, which will be held until May 1.
“We are ready to hold the (LAV), with a lot of it happening in the camps and in the different Comelec offices,” Jimenez said.
Comelec Project Management Office deputy director Teopisto Elnas said LAV ballots had been dispatched for the 34,693 voters who have registered.
The Comelec adopted the LAV to enable those who are tasked to perform election-related duties in areas where they are not registered voters to vote.
LAV is from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Comelec said.
Comelec data showed that the Philippine Army has the most LAV applications approved with 21,488.
A total of 8,501 Philippine National Police personnel and 2,355 members of the Philippine Air Force have also registered for the LAV.
LAV is also open for personnel of the Department of Education, Philippine Navy, Comelec, Philippine Coast Guard and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.
Personnel of the National Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Fire Protection and Department of Labor and Employment will also participate in the LAV.
Close to 500 media practitioners are availing themselves of the LAV.
The LAV is a system of voting that allows specific sectors to cast their votes for national positions ahead of the public.
The Comelec said government, military and police personnel will cast their votes at the venue to be determined by their superiors while media practitioners will vote at the local poll office where they filed their LAV applications.
As this developed, police officers based at Camp Crame in Quezon will cast their votes in the LAV tomorrow.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) has opened its doors for a total of 162 Crame-based personnel and one from the Quezon City Police District, who are exercising their right of suffrage.
These personnel are assigned at the Directorial Staff offices, National Support Units and Masambong Police Station 2.
“More than a right, suffrage is an individual duty of every citizen that he must faithfully perform, more so for police personnel whom citizens look up to as advocates of honest, fair and orderly elections,” PNP chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde said in a statement yesterday. – With Emmanuel Tupas