QUEZON CITY, (PIA) — Local absentee voting (LAV) has started today, April 28, allowing government employees and other qualified individuals to cast their votes ahead of the upcoming May 12, 2025 elections.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will conduct LAV until April 30.
Comelec Chairman George Garcia announced that the voting will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. He emphasized the importance of participation, particularly for the over 57,689 police officers, soldiers, government personnel, and members of the media who are required to perform election-related duties on election day.
“To our local absentee voters, we need you to come election day. Thus, it’s important for you to cast your votes now until April 30,” Garcia said.
The initiative is designed to recognize the contributions of these individuals, with Garcia noting, “You’re all heroes to us, so we want to give you this special treatment.”
The voters are comprising 29,030 Armed Forces personnel, 23,448 Philippine National Police members, 4,206 government employees, and 1,005 media personnel.
Participants will vote for 12 senators and one party-list organization using automated counting machines (ACMs), whenever available.
Voting locations have been predetermined by office heads, supervisors, and commanders for government and military personnel, while media members will vote at Comelec offices where they submitted their LAV applications.
There will also be a one-day LAV scheduled Monday at the Philippine Information Agency central office in Quezon City, which would allow some 25 employees of various government agencies under the Presidential Communications Office to cast their votes earlier. The activity was facilitated by Comelec officials Steve Garcia and Maria Chenoah Sanchez.
“I am grateful for the local absentee voting here in our agency because, while we are on duty during the elections, we are given the opportunity to vote in advance, ensuring that our votes won’t go to waste,” said Kate Austria, PIA’s social media manager, who welcomed the LAV opportunity.
Another government worker, Marinell Gonzales, who is also a first-time absentee voter, expressed some advantages of casting her vote earlier.
“The advantage, aside from not having to wait in long lines, is that it’s not chaotic, and you’re less likely to be persuaded by others,” she said.
“During elections, there are many people, like election watchers, which can make it hard to think clearly. Here, I can think properly and take my time to prepare myself,” she added.
“There are no long lines, you know exactly what time you can vote, and the initiation and process are smooth. You know where you are in the process, so voting is more organized and quieter,” she further said of the LAV setting.
Gonzales also shared her past experience of voting while on duty before.
“I had to rush to the precinct to make sure I had time to vote after uploading content about the politicians I was covering on social media. Luckily, our house is close to the voting precinct, which is another advantage of LAV because it makes things easier for me even when I’m on duty,” she said.
It can be recalled that in the previous 2022 elections, LAV achieved an impressive 88% voter turnout from over 84,000 qualified absentee voters. (JCO/PIA-NCR)
(Photos: John Lester Naguna/PIA-NCR)
