Voting Ahead of Schedule: Eastern Visayas Police Officers Cast Their Ballots Early
Over 200 law enforcement officials in Eastern Visayas chose their preferred candidates during the local absentee voting process.
In the spirited build-up to the 2025 national and local elections, 277 police personnel from Eastern Visayas braved the polling booths on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, for the Local Absentee Voting (LAV) round.
"Our law enforcers deserve the opportunity to contribute their vote and show their active role in upholding peace while carrying out their civic duties," emphasized Brigadier General Jay Cumigad, Eastern Visayas' police regional director.
Cumigad personally led the first ballots cast at Camp Ruperto Kangleon in Palo, Leyte, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on the mentioned day. Representatives from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) were also part of the event, with a pre-voting orientation held to ensure everyone understood the process.
Scores of police personnel were given the chance to cast their ballots privately at the assigned voting center. They placed their voted ballots in envelopes, which were then sealed using an official envelope seal from Comelec. The sealed ballots were later sent to the Committee on Local Absentee Voting (Clav) for safekeeping until the official counting day.
Interested personnel needed to submit completed LAV application forms, which were then processed and approved by the Comelec's Clav before the March 17, 2025 deadline. Ineligible applications were not approved.
The LAV system allows government officials and personnel, including police and military, to vote early if they will be occupied with official duties on election day. Under this system, voters can only vote for national positions, namely, President, Vice President, Senators, and Party-list Representatives. Local positions are not allowed as absentee voting is conducted outside the voter's registered locality.
In the 2025 elections, approximately 57,689 individuals are approved for LAV, with a majority being members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP). This enchanting process of ensuring that service personnel maintain their civic duty, while honoring their commitments to public service, has proven effective, as demonstrated by an impressive 88% turnout in the 2022 elections.
- The 2025 national and local elections in the Philippines saw a participation from the Eastern Visayas' police regional director, Brigadier General Jay Cumigad, who voted early during the Local Absentee Voting (LAV) round.
- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) was represented at the LAV event, ensuring a smooth voting process for the police officers who were given the opportunity to cast their ballots early.
- The LAV system allows government officials, including those from the Philippine National Police (PNP), to vote ahead of schedule if they will be occupied with official duties on election day.
- In the 2025 elections, a significant number of government officials and personnel, a majority being members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and PNP, were approved for LAV.
- The spirited build-up to the 2025 elections saw many government officials prioritizing their civic duty, as demonstrated by an impressive 88% turnout in the 2022 elections.
- The process of ensuring that service personnel maintain their civic duty, while honoring their commitments to public service, has been a topic of debate in the general news, amidst discussions around war-and-conflicts, politics, crime-and-justice, and other relevant issues in the Philippine political landscape.
