23 killed, 20 hurt in barangay election violence - PNP tally

The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday said cases of violence marred the conduct of village and youth polls in several areas in the country. PNP figures show that as of 9 a.m. Monday, 23 people have already been killed, 20 others were wounded while one remains missing in election-related violent incidents nationwide since the start of the election period last September 29. Police said a total of 43 election-related violent incidents have been recorded thus far, without indicating if violence is expected to rise as the elections come to close later in the day. In its nationwide tally, PNP stated that fatalities in election-related violence include five candidates for village chairman, two candidates for village councilor, seven incumbent village officials, 3 other government officials and six civilians. On the other hand, those wounded include four candidates for the village top post, 1 candidate for village councilor, six incumbent village officials and nine civilians. A candidate for village chairman remains missing following his abduction. In its tally, PNP also showed that 325 people were arrested for violating the gun ban, leading to the confiscation of 284 firearms, eight explosives and 52 assorted deadly weapons. On Sunday, the PNP said that it has recorded 34 election-related violent incidents which showed that 20 have died, while 14 were injured as of October 27. However, the police said cases were way below the 159 incidents recorded in 2000 during the same nationwide local polls. The police had placed 4,355 villages or 10.3 percent of villages nationwide in its watch list. Also, the PNP had also arrested 318 violators, including eight policemen and two soldiers, since the gun ban started last September 29. - GMANews.TV