Local Absentee Voting turnout shows strong participation
Over 51,000 voters out of the 57,000 registered—or more than 90%—successfully cast their ballots through Local Absentee Voting (LAV) in the 2025 Philippine elections, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) reported. This marked a significant participation among eligible voters.
Comelec Director and lawyer Allen Francis Abaya shared this update as the counting of LAV ballots began at 6 a.m. on Monday, May 12. “Ang nangyayari ngayon ay ‘yung ating batch feeding, ‘yung counting para sa mga balota ng ating local absentee voters. Nag-start po kami kaninang alas 6 ng umaga. So tuloy-tuloy po yung pag-batch feed sa ating ACM (automated counting machines),” he explained. This means the ballots were fed in batches into the automated counting machines (ACM) to speed up the tallying.
“Ang actual voters natin is 51,991. So, ‘yun po yung bibilangin ngayon [na absentee voting ballots],” Abaya added, confirming the actual number of voters whose ballots were being counted.
Who qualifies for Local Absentee Voting
The Local Absentee Voting system is designed for those who cannot vote in their home precincts. Specifically, members of the media, police, and military personnel deployed on election day, May 12, are eligible.
Abaya noted that while this year’s turnout of over 51,000 is lower than the 2022 presidential elections, it remains strong considering the nature of midterm elections. “During the last 2022 presidential elections, it was higher, it reached around 70,000 out of 80,000 absentee voters we approved. Now, we approved 57,000 for LAV and the actual turnout is 51,000. The 2019 figures were lower,” he said.
Counting process and milestones in LAV
By 4 p.m. on May 12, the Special Electoral Board was set to meet and consolidate the counted LAV votes. This step prepares the results for transmission to the National Board of Canvassers by 7 p.m.
Notably, the 2025 elections marked the first time that LAV votes were counted using automated counting machines. Abaya described this as a “huge relief” and a major improvement over manual counting.
“Pagdating sa bilangan, mas convenient ngayon kaysa sa manual. Mas matagal, mas mahirap, mas nakakapagod [sa manual]. Ngayon, mas convenient kasi nag-fi-feed lang [ng balota sa machine],” he said, highlighting how the machine-based process is less tiring and more efficient.
This shift to automation is expected to make election counting faster and reduce errors, benefiting both Comelec personnel and voters.
For more updates on Eleksyon 2025, visit the official election microsite.