TWENTY people died in 49 validated election-related incidents (ERI) during the election period that started last January 12, the PNP disclosed yesterday.
The number does not include those who died during the election day last Monday, since the 51 incidents recorded that day are still subject to validation.
“There are 49 validated election-related incidents, meaning these were investigated and validated by the committee on validation,” PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said.
Fajardo said the validated ERIs included 24 shooting incidents.
“Twenty died (in these 49 incidents), many of them in the Cordillera Administrative Region,” Fajardo said, adding 31 were injured in these incidents.
The PNP had earlier said the polls were generally peaceful.
Fajardo said 35 incidents previously reported as suspected ERIs were proven not related to the elections.
Fajardo said there are still 87 suspected ERIs that are subject to ongoing validation. Fajardo said this included the 51 incidents recorded on election day, leading to the deaths of five people and deaths of 13 others.
“Based on our data, we recorded 51 cases during the election day,” said Fajardo, adding these included non-violent incidents like pouring of water on Automated Counting Machines.
She said these 51 incidents were automatically included in the list of suspected ERIs.
“As a matter of procedure, the concerned unit is given 10 days to validate whether or not these cases would be considered (validated) election-related incidents. They are not yet included in the 49 (validated ERIs),” said Fajardo.
The PNP said 3,131 individuals have been arrested and 3,217 firearms were seized during the implementation of the election gun ban since January 12.
The number of arrested gun ban violators was 71.37 percent higher compared to the 1,827 gun ban violators arrested during the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) in 2023, the PNP said.
The PNP said the number of seized firearms in this year’s elections was 49.97 percent higher compared to the seized firearms during the BSKE.
“The sharp increase in both arrests and confiscated firearms is proof of our aggressive and sustained campaign to rid our streets of unauthorized and illegal firearms during the election period,” said PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil.
“This is a shared success between the police, our partner agencies, and the public who cooperated with our operations,” added Marbil.
