More than 57,000 Filipinos are set to vote early under the Local Absentee Voting (LAV) system ahead of the 12 May elections, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia said on Tuesday.

In a radio interview, Garcia said that 57,682 voters — including media workers, military personnel, police officers, and other government employees — are participating in the early voting process that started on Monday.

“These are citizens who have responsibilities on election day,” Garcia explained in Filipino, emphasizing that media practitioners are especially crucial in covering developments before, during and after the elections.

Members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police and various government agencies have already begun casting their votes.

Garcia said the Comelec headquarters in Intramuros, along with locations such as Camp Crame and Camp Aguinaldo, are being used as polling centers for Local Absentee Voting participants.

Media workers based in the National Capital Region are casting their votes in San Juan City, under the supervision of the Commission on Elections NCR regional director.

Government employees approved for LAV are voting within their respective offices or designated locations. Garcia clarified that absentee voters can only vote for national positions — president, vice president, senators and partylist representatives — and not for local offices such as mayor or governor.