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COURTESY: "Bongbong Marcos" Facebook page

MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday urged newly elected barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials to be honest and prioritize the welfare of their constituents.

Monday's nationwide vote for around 336,000 council posts was "successful" and "peaceful", Marcos said.

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"Binabati ko ang lahat ng mga bago at muling nahalal na barangay at SK officials. Napakahalaga po ng inyong papel sa ating lipunan,” Marcos said in a video message.

“Maging tapat po tayo sa lahat ng oras. Lagi po nating unahin ang kapakanan ng sambayanan sapagkat sila po ang dahilan kung bakit nais nating magsilbi sa bayan,” he added.

(I congratulate all new and re-elected village and SK officials. Your role in our society is very important. Let us be honest at all times. Let us always prioritize the welfare of the public because they are the reason why we want to serve the country.)

While barangays are the lowest-level government unit, the council posts are hotly contested because they are used by political parties to cultivate grassroots networks and build a support base for local and general elections.

More than 67 million people were registered to vote in the elections, which Marcos described Monday as "very important" for higher-level politicians.

"What happens here in the barangay (village)... are going to have an effect on the results of the mid-term elections and subsequently at the national elections," Marcos said after casting his vote in his family's stronghold of Batac City in the northern province of Ilocos Norte.

"If other barangays tell you 'I will deliver 350 votes for you in my barangay', rest assured, you will get 350. That's why the result is very important."

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The Commission on Elections said at least 19 people were killed in poll-related incidents.

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Voters chose a village captain and seven councillors responsible for implementing national policies, resolving neighborhood disputes and providing basic public services.

Village councils also enable politicians to "disseminate funds and other favors to secure votes", said Maria Ela Atienza, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines.

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Village elections are supposed to be held every three years, but the last vote was in 2018.

They were postponed by former president Rodrigo Duterte and then his successor Marcos on the grounds the government could not afford them.

— With a report from Agence France-Presse