Mid-term elections began Monday in the Philippines amid early reports of violence and irregularities, officials said.

The elections are a referendum on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who has the subject of various controversies in the last two years, including allegations that she rigged the 2004 presidential vote.

About 45 million Filipinos are registered to vote. They will elect 12 senators, more than 200 congressional representatives and some 17,000 local officials.

Opinion polls suggest that the opposition will take the Senate, while the administration will win the House of Representatives.
Surveys leading up to the elections suggested that the opposition would dominate senatorial races, while the administration will likely win in the House of Representatives.

Ricardo Saludo, Arroyo's cabinet secretary, told voters that a Senate controlled by the opposition would only hamper economic and political stability, delaying crucial legislation.

"They would destroy investor confidence and reverse economic resurgence," Saludo warned in a statement.

At least five people were killed in separate attacks in the Philippines Monday as millions of Filipinos voted in congressional and local elections, police said. The killings brought to 118 the number of people killed in election-related violent incidents since January, including 58 politicians and candidates, according to police.

"The peace and order situation in the region is very volatile," said Chief Superintendent Joel Goltiao, a regional police director.

In the 2004 presidential and national elections, 189 people were killed in various election-related violent incidents.