Fire destroys main Philippine electoral building

Manila, Mar 11: A fire destroyed the head electoral office in the Philippines early this morning barely two months before a mid-term ballot.

Election records and materials, including ballot boxes, were destroyed or damaged in the blaze that gutted the two-storey wooden building in the tourist area of Intramuros.

James Jimenez, an elections commission spokesman, said the fire would not affect the May 14 vote because back-up copies of crucial documents were kept at another building.

More than 45 million eligible Filipino voters are expected to cast their ballots to elect 12 senators, 266 members of the lower house of Congress and nearly 18,000 local executives and legislative council members nationwide.

Reuters>