The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday, April 28, officially started the Local Absentee Voting (LAV) for the 2025 midterm elections, allowing more than 57,000 government personnel and other authorized voters to cast their votes ahead of the May 12 polls.

Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said that under the law, only government officials and employees, members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), Comelec staff, and other designated personnel on election duty are permitted to vote early.

LAV voters will only vote for national positions.

“Wala pa kasi tayo sa batas natin na pribadong indibidwal na pwedeng pabotohin nang mas maaga (We still do not have a law that allows private individuals to vote earlier),” Garcia explained.

A total of 57,689 individuals registered for LAV, with the majority coming from the Philippine Army. Within Comelec itself, 922 employees and officials are eligible to vote early.

According to Garcia, for the first time, the LAV will be automated. Although voting machines will not be deployed to various voting sites, Garcia said ballots will be secured inside sealed envelopes, which will later be fed into counting machines at the Comelec Main Office on the evening of May 12.

"Nangangahulugan na yung mga ballot box galing sa iba't ibang ahensya ng pamahalaan, galing sa ating mga kampo ay dadalhin lahat dito sa main office ng Comelec upang dito sabay-sabay na ifeed at bilangin (This means that the ballot boxes from various government agencies and from our military camps will all be brought to the Comelec main office, where they will be fed into the machines and counted all at once)," he said.

Previously, the LAV process took four to five days to complete because of manual counting. This year, the Comelec expects to finish counting all absentee ballots on the same night as election day.

For LAV, voting will run from April 28 to April 30 across designated LAV centers. Garcia clarified that voters do not need to present additional identification at the voting site since the list of approved absentee voters has already been verified by the LAV Committee.

However, he reminded voters to refrain from taking pictures of the ballot or its serial number to maintain ballot secrecy.

Garcia also assured transparency in the counting process. Accredited members of the media, citizens' arms, and representatives from major political parties will be allowed to witness the opening of ballot envelopes and the feeding of ballots into the machines.

"Available po ito sa lahat ng member ng media, lahat ng citizens arm, mga political parties, yung dalawa, major political party at minority political party kasama na rin ang 10 major political parties, maaccommodate po namin kayo lahat diyan. Masasaksihan po natin ang pagpapabilang ng lahat ng mga boto (This is open to all members of the media, all citizens’ arms, political parties — both the major political party and the minority political party — as well as the 10 major political parties; we can accommodate all of you. Everyone will be able to witness the counting of all the votes)," he said.

Garcia underscored the critical impact of LAV results, especially for tight races in the Senate and party-list elections. He recalled instances in past elections where slim margins decided the 12th Senate seat.

“Ganun ka-critical ang 57,000 because this can deliver a vote in favor of somebody or against somebody para lamang doon sa 12th slot o 13th slot ng Senado,” he said.

In the May 2022 elections, Garcia said that LAV turnout reached 88 percent. While turnout is typically lower during midterm elections, Garcia expressed hope that the high participation rate would be maintained this year.

Ballots for LAV are pre-printed with candidates' names, requiring only shading — a convenience Comelec hopes will encourage greater voter participation.

"So sana naman dahil 57,000 na lang naman more or less yung boboto sana naman ma-reach din natin ang ganoon kadaming porsyentong bilang (So hopefully, since there are only around 57,000 voters this time, we can still reach that same high percentage of turnout)," he said.

"Lalo pa't ito naman ay ina-announce natin at lalo pa talagang hindi na po silang mahihirapan dahil po shading lang ito, hindi na po isusulat yung mga pangalan. Andiyan na po ang pangalan ng mga kandidato at si-shade na lang po natin (Especially since we's been announcing this, it will be even easier for them as they only need to shade — they no longer have to write the names. The candidates' names are already there, and they just need to shade them)," he added.

Garcia reminded voters that no voter receipts will be issued for LAV ballots; receipts will only be generated during the actual election day. Selected precincts from the LAV will also undergo a random manual audit to ensure the accuracy of machine counts.