MANILA, Reuters – The Philippine Police said Sunday that the overall state of the country ahead of May 9th’s general election was “relatively calm”, despite some incidents and related offences.

On Monday, Filipinos will elect President Rodrigo Duterte as their successor. They’ll vote for a vice-president, twelve senators, hundreds and congressmen and thousands and governors.

It looks like the presidential election will feature a rematch between Ferdinand Marcos Jr., son and named after the dictator of the country, and the current Vice President Leni Rodeo, the human right lawyer who narrowly defeated him in 2016’s vice presidential contest.

Marcos and Robredo made last-ditch attempts to persuade undecided voters by sending upbeat, patriotic messages after three months of divisional campaigning.

Jean Fajardo, spokesperson for the Philippine National Police said that “one day before the actual elections are conducted, we are considering how prepared and the situation to be relatively peaceful.”

According to her, 16 elections-related crimes have been committed by police in the past campaign season, which includes shooting incidents between local rivals candidates in Nueva Ecija, Ilocos Sur, and Nueva Ecija.

Fajardo stated, “These are very good indicators. These are high numbers.” He compared the data from the police with the records of the 133 cases in the 2016 general elections and 60 cases recorded during the 2019 midterms.

Fajardo stated that more than 3,000 police officers were arrested in relation to the Election Ban on Carrying Firearms. The arrests are also significantly lower due to an intense campaign to confiscate firearms left behind and potentially used by private armed organizations.

Duterte didn’t endorse any candidates in Saturday’s final campaign push, but his political party is supporting Marcos, Duterte and Sara Duterte Carpio’s daughter, who was Marcos’ running mate.

Based on opinions polls, both remained well ahead of their competitors.