The Philippine National Police (PNP) has recorded 39 suspected election-related incidents nationwide as the country prepares for the 12 May midterm elections.

PNP spokesperson PBGen. Jean Fajardo reported that of these cases, 11 have been validated as election-related, while 23 were confirmed to be unrelated to the polls. The remaining five cases are still under investigation.

“Dun sa validated election-related incidents nung mga previous election, mas mababa ito kumpara sa midterm election noong 2019,” she said. 

She emphasized the need to prevent these incidents from escalating into more serious acts of election violence, particularly at the local level, where electoral contests tend to be more intense.

Fajardo also noted a decrease in the number of election areas of concern. As of March 19, the total had dropped to 386, down from over 400 recorded by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) in early January. The classification system categorizes areas under yellow, orange, and red, with red being the most critical.

Meanwhile, COMELEC Chairman George Erwin Garcia in a separate interview announced that additional personnel have been deployed to 36 high-risk areas to bolster security. More checkpoints have also been established to curb loose firearms and dismantle private armed groups.

Garcia reiterated COMELEC's strict stance on election-related violence, stating that any attack on election officers will be treated as election-related.

“In cases where our local COMELEC personnel are targeted, we have no other conclusion but to classify it as election-related violence,” Garcia said in Filipino.