Filipinos heading to polls amid Marcos-Duterte showdown

MANILA - Millions of Filipinos have been heading to the polls on Monday in a midterm election that has been widely seen as a proxy battle between President Ferdinand Marcos and partner-turned-competitor, Vice President Sara Duterte.

Marcos and Duterte are not on the ballot, but they have been campaigning vigorously for their slates of candidates. The race will decide more than 18,000 positions, including 12 senators, members of the House of Representatives, and provincial and town officials.

The early hours of the voting, which started at 5 am local time, were beset by a shooting near a polling center in Negros Occidental province in the central Philippines that reportedly killed at least two people and injured five others.

The Commission on Elections said about 68 million Filipinos could vote in the midterm elections.

The election of a new set of senators in the 24-member Senate has grabbed wide attention, as the 12 senators chosen Monday will form half the jury in a Duterte impeachment trial later this year.

Aside from 12 senators, the polls will also elect over 300 members of the House of Representatives and over 17,000 governors, mayors, and local officials.

The voting will close at 7 pm local time, with unofficial results expected soon after.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has been on alert since May 3. The Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Coast Guard have standby quick reaction teams to help secure polling stations and guard checkpoints.

The PNP has reported at least 13 election-related deaths and 16 injuries in 35 incidents across the archipelagic country related to this year's elections, according to English-language daily The Philippine Star.