A non-partisan election watchdog group on Monday said that the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections have been "generally peaceful and orderly" despite facing several election-related issues.

At the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing, Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting national coordinator Dr. Arwin Serrano said most candidates running for BSKE positions behaved appropriately, although he also highlighted instances of illegal campaign activities, missing names on voters' lists and distribution of ballot samples in polling precincts.

"There were only a few reported incidents where they attempted to campaign by distributing sample ballots and leaflets bearing the name of candidates because that is prohibited," Serrano said.

"There are also a few ongoing perennial problems where they can't see their names on the list of voters," he added.

He added that PPCRV has deployed 250,000 volunteers nationwide to monitor the BKSE.

When asked if all areas and precincts have PPCRV volunteers assigned to them, Serrano said that it's not exactly 100 percent, but that most areas have a significant presence of volunteers.

"There were some last-minute issues with our local coordinators, but it's a small number," Serrano explained.

Serrano said that the PPCRV is also considering further improvements, such as local absentee voting for manual elections.

"This suggestion came up during the early part of our conversation, and we believe it's something Comelec should consider. We might formalize this proposal in the future, especially for law enforcement agencies," he said.

Serrano then reminded candidates to behave responsibly and to accept the election results. He also encouraged voters to continue to participate actively in the barangay election and to pray for a peaceful and smooth election.