MANILA, Philippines - This year’s election was less bloody compared to the previous ones, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Tuesday.
Police data showed that as of Tuesday, 51 persons were killed and 65 others were wounded in 81 election-related violent incidents since Jan. 13.
This was lower than the 56 fatalities recorded in 2007 and 54 deaths posted in the same period in 2010. The number of wounded persons also went down slightly from 69 in 2007 and 74 in 2010.
PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Generoso Cerbo, Jr., however, admitted that this year’s figures may also change as they receive more reports from the field.
“Comparatively, the 2013 election was safer and less bloody,†Cerbo said in a press briefing.
Of the 50 fatalities this year, 33 were elected officials, one was a candidate, 14 were supporters of politicians, two were soldiers and one was a policeman.
Of the wounded persons, 40 of them were civilians, 15 were incumbent officials, eight were soldiers, one was a policeman and one was a candidate.
A total of 3,283 persons have been arrested for violating election laws like gun ban while 3,190 firearms have been confiscated.