Voting has begun officially for Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) across various jail facilities as part of the 2025 National and Local Midterm Elections.

At the Talisay City Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), 793 PDLs are set to vote—comprised of 695 male and 98 female detainees. 

The facility holds the largest number of PDL voters among BJMP jails in the province of Cebu, which has more than 3,000 registered PDL voters in total.

Voting started promptly past 6 a.m., with the special voting expected to conclude by around 1 p.m. 

The Talisay City BJMP was placed on red alert as early as 4 a.m., according to Inspector Nelver Lagutin, spokesperson of the BJMP Male Dormitory. 

While voting is underway inside the facility, no personnel are allowed to leave, and jail staff will only be able to cast their own votes after the PDL voting ends.

Meanwhile, there are 17 Special Polling Precincts at BJMP facilities in MIMAROPA.

According to Jail Officer 3 Joefrie Anglo, Regional Information Officer of BJMP MIMAROPA, around 1,126 PDLs are expected to vote across 17 Special Polling Precincts throughout the region, including the Roxas District Jail in Oriental Mindoro and the Puerto Princesa City Jail-Male Dormitory.

COMELEC and BJMP personnel are overseeing the special voting process to ensure that detainees can exercise their right to vote in a secure and orderly manner.

(with reports from Fe Marie Dumaboc, GMA Regional TV Balitang Bisdak, and Vincent John Abordo)