DAVAO: Three security guards were murdered Monday when gunmen opened fire at a polling site in a tense region of the southern Philippines, according to authorities, as millions of Filipinos cast ballots in national elections.

Elections are often tense in a country with loose gun regulations and a violent political culture, but police say this year’s election season has been quite calm.

The fatal shooting occurred immediately after voting began in Buluan municipality on Mindanao island, which is home to a variety of armed groups ranging from communist rebels to Islamist extremists.

When the gunfire began, individuals inside the school that was being utilised as a voting station rushed for shelter, according to former mayor Ibrahim Mangudadatu.

According to Maguindanao provincial police spokesman Major Roldan Kuntong, a fourth guard was injured in the incident.

Five explosives detonated outside a voting booth in Datu Unsay municipality late Sunday, injuring nine people.

A grenade exploded minutes later in the neighbouring municipality of Shariff Aguak, but no one was injured. Both settlements are located in Maguindanao province.

When voting booths opened around the country on Monday morning, the grenade victims travelled from their isolated mountain communities to vote at the municipal hall in Datu Unsay, according to police.

“It is their custom to come down early from their villages, which are located eight to 12 hours away on foot,” Kuntong explained.

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