Money, power and violence in Philippine elections

Philippines election hopefuls like mayoral candidate Kerwin Espinosa have to ask themselves whether the job is worth taking a bullet.

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The country's elections commission, Comelec, recorded 46 acts of political violence between January 12 and April II, including the shooting of Espinosa. At a rally this month, someone from the crowd fired a bullet that went through his chest and exited his arm, leaving him bleeding but alive. Others have been less lucky.

A city council hopeful, a polling officer and a village chief were among those killed in similar attacks in the run-up to mid-term elections on May 12. Comelec said "fewer than 20" candidates have been killed so far this campaign season, which it notes is a drop.

"This is much lower, very low compared to the past," commission spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco told AFP, citing a tally of about 100 deaths in the last general election.

Analysts warned that such violence will likely remain a fixture of the Philippines' political landscape. The immense influence of the posts is seen as something worth killing for.

Holding municipal office means control over jobs, police departments and disbursements of national tax funds, said Danilo Reyes, an associate professor at the University of the Philippines' political science department.