Polls open for Philippines election

Filipinos have begun voting for a new president with the son of an ousted dictator and a champion of reforms and human rights as top contenders.

The winner of Monday's election will take office on June 30 for a single, six-year term and stands to inherit immense problems, including a pandemic-battered economy, deep poverty and the legacy of a brutal anti-drugs crackdown led by outgoing leader Rodrigo Duterte.

Aside from the presidency, more than 18,000 government posts are contested, including half of the 24-member Senate, more than 300 seats in the House of Representatives, as well as provincial and local offices across the archipelago of more than 109 million Filipinos.

About 67 million have registered to cast their ballot during the 13-hour voting, an hour longer than the midterm elections in 2019 to compensate for the expected slower queues due to social distancing and other coronavirus safeguards.