Manila, March 3 -- The Commission on Election (Comelec) on Monday said it recorded 29 validated election-related violent incidents (ERVIs) ahead of the May 12 midterm polls.

In a media interview after meeting with top Philippine National Police (PNP) officials at Camp Crame in Quezon City, Commission on Elections Chairperson George Erwin Garcia said 15 violent incidents are under validation if they are related to the upcoming elections.

He said majority of the validated ERVIs happened in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

"Ang focus talaga ng discussion kanina more on the Bangsamoro din not because the Bangsamoro is a special region but because na-postpone kasi ang election doon and therefore gusto namin malam...