BLAST SITE. A soldier inspects the area outside the main gate of vice-gubernatorial candidate Ustadz Hisham Nando’s residence in Barangay Poblacion, Buluan, Maguindanao del Sur, following a grenade explosion on Sunday night (May 4, 2025). The blast left a crater near the road entrance, but no injuries were reported. (Photo courtesy of Buluan PNP)
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Philippines — There are now 20 deaths and 31 injuries due to election-related incidents, according to Philippine National Police (PNP).
The police previously reported that 13 were killed and 11 were injured for the same reasons.
PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo is now citing new data from the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM).
These figures have been validated on the ground.
She gave the new number of 20 fatalities in a press conference at Camp Olivas in San Fernando City, Pampanga on Thursday.
The period covered for this tally is from January 12 until May 14.
It excludes events that occurred on election day itself which have yet to be confirmed by the authorities.
According to Fajardo, the number of validated election-related incidents remains at 49.
She further detailed that the incidents took place in areas with the following Commission on Elections (Comelec) categories:
Areas under Comelec control – four incidents
Red areas – three incidents
Orange areas – 15 incidents
Yellow areas – 13 incidents
Green areas – 14 incidents
The PNP spokesperson added that authorities arrested 13 individuals, but 168 suspects are still at large.
Hike in number of gun ban violators
The PNP also reported a 71-percent increase in the number of individuals who violated the gun ban for the 2025 election period compared to the 2023 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.
In a statement on Thursday, the PNP said it arrested 3,131 persons during the first four months of the gun ban period leading up to the May 2025 elections.
Meanwhile, there were 1,827 violators apprehended leading up to the October elections in 2023.
The number of firearms confiscated during the gun ban period likewise increased by 49.9 percent between the 2023 and 2025 elections.
Police seized 2,085 firearms leading up to the October 2023 election, while it seized 3,217 firearms leading up to the May 2025 elections.
The PNP attributed the increase to “massive” checkpoint operations, of which, police said, there have been a total of 862,827 so far across the country.
The gun ban began last January 12 in a bid to curb violence ahead of the midterm polls.
