2020 Palawan division plebiscite

A plebiscite will be held in 2020 regarding the proposed dividing of Palawan in the Philippines into three separate provinces: Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental, and Palawan del Sur (as per Republic Act No. 11259).

2020 Palawan division plebiscite
Plebiscite question to be determined
(Plebiscite will decide if registered voters in Palawan except in Puerto Princessa approved of Republic Act No. 11259 which proposes the partition of Palawan into three separate provinces)
Proposed divisions of Palawan (Palawan del Norte, Palawan del Sur, and Palawan Oriental as three different provinces with Puerto Princesa as an independent city.

Background

Legislative history

Republic Act No. 11259, dividing the Philippine province of Palawan into three separate provinces, was signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte on April 5, 2019. The act will only take effect if voters in the province vote in favor of the law in a plebiscite scheduled within 2020.[1]

Division of Palawan

Republic Act No. 11259 proposes the division of Palawan into three provinces. The following are the proposed component municipalities of the three provinces:[1]

Upon approval of voters, Palawan del Norte and Palawan Oriental would be created from the northern portion of Palawan. Palawan del Sur, designated as the "mother province", would be the legal successor of the would-be-dissolved Palawan province.[1]

The highly-urbanized city of Puerto Princesa, which is not currently under the jurisdiction of the Palawan provincial government and is only statistically and geographically considered part of the province, will continue to be independent of any province. As such, its residents will not participate in the plebiscite; if the division is approved, it would be grouped with the southern province thereafter.[1] However, a petition was filed in Supreme Court, which sought the inclusion of Puerto Princesa residents in the plebiscite.[2]

Preparation

As per law, the plebiscite for the division of Palawan was originally scheduled on "the second Monday of May 2020" (May 11). However, the plebiscite was suspended on late March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] If a "majority of the votes cast by the voters of the affected areas" voted in favor of the law, the Palawan will be split into three provinces: Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental and Palawan del Sur. It is unclear what the fate of the proposed partition will be if a majority in one of the proposed three provinces rejected the motion in the plebiscite.[1]

There are 490,639 registered voters eligible to participate in the plebiscite.[2]

By mid-May Palawan governor Jose Alvarez said that he expects the plebiscite to be done by July, adding that once the general community quarantine is lifted in Palawan, the Commission on Elections will reschedule it.[4] Commissioner Rowena Guanzon hinted that the plebiscite would not take place until the province is no longer locked down.[5]

On May 15, Mimaropa, including Palawan and Puerto Princesa, was placed in modified general community quarantine, the lowest form of quarantine available.[6] By July 3, the local COMELEC office is awaiting on a memorandum from the main COMELEC office in Manila on when the plebiscite will take place. The provincial information office earlier said that it expects the plebiscite to be done by August, or at least this year.[7]

By July, the commission deferred to the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) on scheduling when the plebiscite can be held. The IATF recommended the commission to conduct it with minimum exposure of the voters to the coronavirus, provide additional health safety measures, including the addition of new polling precincts to reduce congestion. The groups campaigning against the division pointed out that activities related to the plebiscite involves mass gatherings, and would be against the guidelines imposed by the government.[8]

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References
  1. Salaverria, Leila (14 April 2019). "Plebiscite on splitting Palawan into 3 provinces set for 2020". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  2. Cetenta, Diana Ross (14 February 2020). "400k registered voters to decide Palawan division". Palawan Daily News. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  3. Magdayao, Aira Genesa (26 March 2020). "Postponement of Palawan division plebiscite sought". Palawan News Online. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  4. Magdayao, Aira Genesa (2020-05-14). "Plebiscite on division of Palawan into 3 provinces may be held in July". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  5. Santos, Tina G. (2020-05-11). "No plebiscite on new Palawan provinces soon". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  6. Kravchuk, Max. "Oops, These Areas Will Remain Under Modified GCQ; Guidelines For The Phased Transition From ECQ to GCQ". OneNews.ph. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  7. Laririt, Patricia (2020-07-03). "No COMELEC update on holding of plebiscite to create 3 Palawan provinces". Palawan News Online. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  8. Magdayao, Aira Genesa (2020-07-28). "COMELEC defers to IATF on conduct of Palawan plebiscite". Palawan News Online. Retrieved 2020-07-28.
  • Republic Act No. 11259, Charter of the Provinces of Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental, and Palawan del Sur
  • COMELEC Resolution No. 10620, Calendar of Activities and Periods of Certain Prohibited Acts in Connection with the May 11, 2020 Plebiscite to Ratify the Division of the Province of Palawan
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