Palawan’s division up at plebiscite

 IT’S all systems go for today’s plebiscite for the separation of Palawan into three provinces.

Comelec Deputy Executive Director for Operations Teopisto Elnas on Friday said all plebiscite supplies and related paraphernalia that would be used in the elections were already delivered to the treasurer’s office of the various municipalities of the province, except those for Kalayaan Islands.

“But hopefully we can address the problem this afternoon,” Elnas told a press briefing in Puerto Princesa City in Palawan.

 

There are a total of 490,639 registered voters in the plebiscite.

Of the number, 58,966 are senior citizens, 4,340 are persons with disabilites,14,056 Indigenous People and 15 persons deprived of liberty.

Comelec Commissioner Antonio Kho said the final outcome of the plebiscite may be known within five days.

“Hopefully we can get the final results by March 16 although it may take a day or two before we [can] determine if it is a yes or it is a no,” Kho added.

Voting will be done manually. Precincts will open at 7 a.m.

Registered voters will only write “yes” if they are in favor of dividing the province of Palawan into Paalawan, Palawan del Norte and Palawan Oriental, and write “no” if they are against it.

Strict health protocols shall be implemented in polling precincts.

Only five voters will be allowed at any given time.

Kho said the plebiscite would play a vital role in the preparations for the elections next year.

“This is the first time we are doing an electoral exercise under a pandemic. Assuming that the situation is still the same, this will somewhat serve as a laboratory for the conduct of the national elections in terms of observance of health protocols,” Kho said.

Election watchdog Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente) said it will closely monitor the conduct of the plebiscite with focus on the introduction of Covid-related and innovations, including procedures for vulnerable sectors like persons with disabilities and indigenous people, among others.

“Observations gathered through the aid of carefully designed methodology and tools shall have an impact on the recommendations that Lente will forward to the Comelec and to policy-makers on reformative measures that can potentially be adopted for the 2022 national and local elections,” it said.

Among the protocols that Comelec will implement are temperature check at voting center entrance, deployment of medical personnel, isolation facility and use of gloves by voters.

The plebiscite was originally scheduled for May 11, 2020 but was suspended because of the pandemic and the implementation of enhanced community quarantine.

On Oct. 8, 2020, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases approved a proposal to already hold the plebiscite.

https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/03/13/news/regions/palawans-division-up-at-plebiscite/850549/