MANILA, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Voting in the Philippines' presidential elections ended 13 hours after polling centers across the country opened at 6:00 a.m. local time Monday (2200 GMT Sunday).
As the voting process continued, violence erupted mainly in the southern Philippines, killing six people and wounding over a dozen others.
Colonel Ramon Zagala, the spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said the military monitored at least 15 election-related violence, including shootings, explosions and ambuscades, but adding that the elections were generally peaceful.
A total of 37,211 polling centers across the country opened for 65.7 million eligible voters and closed at 7:00 p.m. local time (1100 GMT).
Also to be elected are the vice president, 12 senators, more than 300 members of the House of Representatives, and over 17,000 local officials.
Over 1,800 vote-counting machines in some polling centers broke down, causing long lines and delays in the voting process. Mask-wearing Filipinos queued before dawn to vote. Some voters, including old and sick people, waited in line for up to three hours to vote.
The presidential candidate frontrunner and former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., 64, the son of former President Ferdinand Marcos, cast his ballot at the Mariano Marcos Memorial Elementary School in Batac City, Ilocos Norte province, north of main Luzon island.
His main rival, incumbent Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo, 57, cast the ballot in her hometown of Naga City in the Bicol region, south of Luzon island.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, 43, the daughter of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte and frontrunner in the vice-presidential race, cast her ballot inside a high school in her hometown of Davao City on Mindanao island.
President Duterte, 77, who did not endorse any presidential bet for this year's elections, also cast his ballot in Davao City, hours after his daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio voted.
The Commission on Elections said the voting was a success.
"Blockbuster. The long lines are magnificent. Filipinos wanted to be heard and heard loudly," Commissioner George Garcia said.
John Rex Laudiangco, the acting spokesperson of the poll body, said the long lines mean that many Filipinos are eager to exercise their right to suffrage.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano said three people were killed and one injured in a shooting incident near a polling center in Maguindanao province in the southern Philippines on Monday morning.
He said the attackers opened fire at the members of village peacekeepers helping in the voting process in Buluan town around 7:25 a.m. local time (2325 GMT Sunday).
The military said at least three people were killed and four others wounded in a shooting incident in Malabang town in Lanao del Sur province around 11:05 a.m. local time (0305 GMT) near a polling precinct on Monday.
On Monday morning, the poll body also reported another strafing incident in Sumisip town in Basilan province in the southern Philippines, saying there were no casualties in the attack.
Police reported an improvised explosive device went off around 9:40 a.m. local time (0140 GMT) near a polling center in Kabacan town in Cotabato province. There were no casualties in the blast that delayed the voting process.
Earlier Monday, police also reported at least eight persons were injured in grenade explosions in Maguindanao province on Sunday night, the eve of the voting.
Police said the explosions hit Datu Unsay town, and another one hit nearby Shariff Aguak town.
No group has claimed responsibility for the explosions. Police are looking into the attacks in the areas tagged as "hot spots". Authorities said the eruption of violence in these areas did not disrupt the voting process.
The government has put 45,000 soldiers and 60,000 police officers in charge of maintaining order during the elections. An additional 12,000 police force is on stand-by if violence breaks out in some areas.
The poll body has tagged 104 municipalities and 14 cities as "hot spots" due to armed groups and intense political rivalry, which could trigger election violence. ■