More than 50 million Filipinos choose a president, vice president, nearly 300 lawmakers in the two-chamber Congress and more than 17,600 local government seats on May 10.

Elections in the resource-rich Southeast Asian nation are always colorful - Congress candidates this year include President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Imelda Marcos and boxing champion Manny Pacquiao - but are also marked by violence and fraud as clans vie for provincial power.

Arroyo, who is not eligible for another term as president, and about a dozen members of her Cabinet are seeking local positions.

The 45 days of local campaigning could change the presidential race if Gilberto "Gibo" Teodoro, the administration candidate for president running a distant fourth in opinion polls, can tap the national reach of his party organization to boost support.

If Teodoro does not lift his single-digit ratings in coming weeks, analysts and commentators think powerbrokers of Arroyo's party could swing behind Manuel "Manny" Villar, who dominates the presidential race along with Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino.

Financial markets are hoping for a smooth transition of power, although there are concerns about potential technical and logistical problems with a new automated voting system.

"The financial market is taking it differently at this time," said Jonathan Ravelas, chief market strategist at Banco de Oro. "We're more concerned about the external volatility brought by the situation in Greece." Candidates visited cities and towns, pressing hands with market vendors, housewives, students and laborers and holding political rallies.

Imelda Marcos, widow of deposed dictator Ferdinand Marcos who ruled the Philippines for 20 years until 1986, is seeking a seat in the lower house of Congress. Her eldest daughter, Imee, is running for governor of the tobacco-producing Ilocos province.

On the southern island of Mindanao, seven-time world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao hopped from town to town, visiting markets and public parks in his quest for a seat in Congress.