On March 13, residents of Palawan will gather to the polls to vote on whether they approve or reject the move to split the province into three. Here's what you need to know about this historic event.
The Palawan plebiscite will be the first voting event in the country that will take place in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic with the implementation of minimum health protocols.
The Commission on Elections reported 490,639 registered voters but only a maximum of 200 will be allowed per clustered precinct and five at a given time. There are 2,959 clustered or grouped precincts, 3,250 established precincts and 487 voting centers in 23 municipalities except Puerto Princesa, as a highly urbanized city.
Residents such as indigenous people who live in far-flung communities will be able to vote through Accessible Voting Centres set up near their areas.
Voters have from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. to cast their vote, during which they are required to observe physical distancing and wear face masks while face shields are optional since some communities may not have access to supply. Voters are required to submit health declaration forms but medical personnel will still be stationed in the centers to conduct temperature checks. Those found with a temperature of at least 37.5 and with answers of "yes" to any of the questions on the health form will stay in an isolated space while they fill their ballots. Disinfection will also take place from time to time, the Comelec said.
After they have been cleared to enter the polling place, voters shall proceed to the assistance desk to check their precinct number and receive other instructions. They will vote in order of their arrival and shall leave immediately after sending in their ballot.
The Comelec said it expects to finish canvassing votes on March 16. The creation of the three provinces will be upon the approval of majority of the votes but protests on the results can be filed 10 days after the proclamation.
Background
Back in April 2019, President Rodrigo Duterte signed into a law a measure that sought to divide Palawan into three provinces, namely: Palawan Del Norte. Palawan Oriental, and Palawan Del Sur.
Palawan Del Norte will cover the municipalities of Coron, Culion, Busuanga, Linapacao, Taytay and El Nido. Its capital would be Taytay.
Palawan Oriental will have the towns of Roxas, Araceli, Dumaran, Cuyo, Agutaya, Magsaysay, Cayancillo and San Vicente with Roxas as the capital.
Meanwhile, Palawan del Sur - named as the mother province - will be comprised of Aborlan, Narra, Quezon, Rizal, Española, Brooke's Point, Bataraza, Balabac and Kalayaan, with its capital being Brooke's Point.
Yes or No
Palawan officials have been pushing for this measure given that Palawan is the biggest province in the country. With a size of 1.7 million hectares, it is three times as big as Cebu, five times as big as Batangas and seven times as big as Laguna, according to the Partidong Pagbabago ng Palawan.
"Dahil sa laki ng Palawan, hindi madali sa ating mga opisyal na pangalagaan o bantayan ang buong probinsya ng Palawan at mabigay na mas mabilis na serbisyo," said Atty. Christian Cojamco, of the group's legal department, in a previous conference.
[Translation: Because of the largeness of Palawan, it has been difficult for our officials to take care or monitor the entire province and to provide services speedily.]
The group also mentioned that through the law, the island's allocated budget will double from P3 billion to P6 billion, with each new province getting at least P2 billion.
However, there are sectors who oppose the proposal, saying the province's budget increases every year regardless of the new law and the new allocation will only be a waste of money that will serve political interests. The One Palawan Movement raised that the increased budget allocated to the new provinces will mostly be used to construct new capital facilities and office resources instead of actual improvements into the island.
The organization also argued that despite the largeness of Palawan, it is mostly forests and mountains, which do not warrant the need for more capital cities and structures. It said Palawan only had 58 residents per square kilometer.
"Hindi pagdadagdag ng kapitolyo ang kailangan. Ang kadalasang pumupunta at may transaksyon sa kapitolyo ay mga pulitiko at opisyales lamang, hindi ang simpleng mamamayan" said Cynthia Sumagaysay-Del Rosario, One Palawan Movement's lead campaigner.
[Translation: Additional capital cities are not needed. The people who often visit or have transactions in those facilities are the officials, not the ordinary people.]
It also said the division of Palawan is a ploy by politicians who are close to the end of their terms to remain in office by creating more local positions. As for the argument on delivery of services, the One Palawan Movement said municipalities and other local government units have been effectively doing that job.
It instead urged better enforcement of existing laws, placing commercial or "growth centers" and promoting community-based development.
https://www.cnnphilippines.com/regional/2021/3/12/Palawan-plebiscite-explained.html
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