Friday, March 12, 2021
Palawan plebiscite: What you need to know
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
Can You Prove God Exists?
In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself. 2 Corinthians 5:19
The young Marxist looked his guest in the eye as he said, “Do you mind if I ask you three questions? First‑‑how can you be so sure there is a God? Can you prove God’s existence? Secondly‑‑how do you know that the Bible is true? Thirdly‑‑if there is a God, why does He allow so many people to suffer?”
If you were confronted with those three gripping questions and had one minute to answer each, what would you say? I would be tempted to point out the fact that apart from God‑‑ not just any god, but the revealed God of the Bible‑‑there is an emptiness in the heart of man that can never be filled.
The French philosopher, Blaise Pascal wrote of the vacuum in the heart of every man which could only be filled by Jesus Christ. Having traveled in Communist countries, and having enough contact with people who have grown up in those same countries, I am convinced that there is an empty place in the hearts of men and women, and the three questions asked by the 17‑year‑old honor student are without answers apart from what God has revealed through His Son and the written, incarnate Word, Jesus Christ.
I would like to tell our friend of the letter which came to our Cambodian associate—a letter from a Communist soldier who wrote the following, “I listen to your programs every day morning and evening…. I would like to be a Christian like you, too. How can I become a Christian like you? Please help me.” Pointing out the fact that a political system does not answer those questions does not tell what Christianity’s answer is, either.
Attacking the deficiency of one system does not prove the superiority of the other. How can you prove God’s existence? Were the Russian cosmonauts right who went into space saying they looked for God and did not see Him in outer space?
Strangely enough, the Bible never attempts to prove God’s existence‑‑it merely accepts His existence and proceeds to tell us of His involvement in the affairs of men. I can give some logical reasons for God’s existence‑‑reasons that have spoken to the hearts of men for centuries, such as the cause-and-effect relationship of our world, the design which demands a designer, the moral sense of rightness which causes men to worship a Creator‑‑whether a pagan deity or even a human figure like Mao Zedong or Lenin. There are other reasons, too, but those, of course, are reasons, not proofs.
Technically, I cannot prove God’s existence. Neither can you disprove His existence; but I can demonstrate how it is much more logical to accept His existence than to reject Him. I would like to point out the fact that God is not a philosophical abstraction as many religions teach, but a Person, a Father who has revealed Himself to men. Striving to understand all there is to know about God before they can ever believe in Him, some men fail to grasp the central fact of His existence and the truth of His revelation to us in the person of Jesus Christ.
In conclusion, the irony of my answer is that I cannot prove God’s existence; yet, I can introduce you to Him by letting you meet His Son, Jesus Christ, who lived, died, and proved His deity by rising from the dead. Jesus did rise from the dead, authenticating the very heart of the New Testament. He demands not only my worship and acknowledgment, but my life and existence. How dare we short-change divinity!
Resource reading: Isaiah 40:6-31
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/can-you-prove-god-exists/
PH gov’t has yet to get cold storage suppliers through bidding due to advance payment prohibition
The Department of Health on Friday revealed that while it has been regularly holding biddings, the country has yet to clinch an agreement with a cold storage facility.
“The bidding has been continuous naman. It has been regular. Ang problema, halos lahat nadisqualify doon sa initial run ng aming procurement kasi may mga requirements kami based on our terms of reference that was not able to be complied with these 3rd party logistics na nag-apply sa amin,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said during a briefing.
(The bidding has been continuous. It has been regular. The problem is that almost all were disqualified during the initial run of our procurement because we have a requirement based on the terms of reference that was not complied with the 3rd party logistics applying.)
Vergeire explained that government procurement laws state that they can only provide the payment once the service is rendered or there are receivables already.
“I think because of this big transaction medyo may issue ’yan sa mga nagbi-bid na 3rd party logistics kasi wala pwedeng ibigay na parang advance payment,” she said.
(I think since this is a big transaction the 3rd party logistics companies have an issue with that because they are unable to receive advance payment.)
Vergeire said the department could not change the system since it is part of the law followed when it comes to bidding.
The health official said the DOH currently does not have problems because there is enough capacity in government facilities and that there are groups helping them.
“Tinitignan lang natin, kailangan lang natin maisiguro na meron tayong makuha dahil ’pag dumating na ’yung most of the bulk na ino-order nating bakuna kakailanganin talaga natin itong logistics firm na ito,” she said.
(We just need to ensure that we get one once the bulk orders of vaccines come in because we really need a logistics firm.)
So far, the country has received more than a million vaccines from AstraZeneca and Sinovac. The government, which is expecting more shipments in the coming months, is aiming to inoculate up to 70 million Filipinos, which will require 140 million doses, before the end of the year.
While most vaccines will only require regular refrigerator temperature, messenger RNA vaccines such as that of Pfizer and Moderna, which are both expected to arrive in the Philippines, require ultra cold storage to keep the doses frozen.
Usad ng pag-roll out ng bakuna kontra COVID-19 pinabibilisan
Pinabibilisan ng ilan ang pagpapabakuna kontra coronavirus disease (COVID-19) matapos lumabas sa datos ng Department of Health na 11 porsiyento pa lang ng health workers ang nababakunahan.
Hinikayat ni Sen. Panfilo Lacson na bilisan ang pagro-roll out ng mga bakuna dahil kung pagbabasehan umano ang kasalukuyang usad ng pagbabakuna, baka taong 2033 pa maabot ang herd immunity mula sa pagbabakuna ng 70 milyong Pilipino.
"If we do not improve on this pace, and let’s all hope we will accelerate, we will finish vaccinating the 70 million target population to achieve herd immunity in 2033," ani Lacson sa isang pahayag.
Sa datos ng DOH, nasa 11 porsiyento pa lang ng mga health worker ang nabakunahan mula Miyerkoles. Katumbas ito ng nasa 114,615 eligible health workers.
Sa bilang, 101,827 ang naturukan ng Sinovac vaccines mula China, habang 12,788 ang naturukan ng bakuna na gawa ng AstraZeneca. Pinakamarami ang nabakunahan sa Metro Manila at Cordillera Administrative Region.
Matapos ang health workers, tuturukan na rin ng bakuna ang ibang priority sector tulad ng senior citizens, mahihirap, at economic frontliners.
Pero ang ilan, naiinip na.
"Tayong mahirap diyan. Dapat nga mas maaga sana 'yan. Sa ibang bansa vaccine na, sa atin face shield pa lang," ayon sa isang tricycle driver.
"Hindi ka makalabas. Hindi ka makapagtrabaho. Sa gallery, hindi na pinapasok," pahayag naman ng senior citizen na si Virgilio Prontes.
Aminado naman si Health Secretary Francisco Duque III na hindi inaasahan ang pagbagal ng pagbabakuna. Pero ngayon aniya ay bumibilis na ito.
"The first week, I will admit, the vaccination rate was not as quick as we wanted it, but for obvious reasons. Siyempre nag-uumpisa pa lang," ani Duque.
Kinausap na rin ng DOH ang implementing units na maglaan ng mas malaking lugar para sa post-vaccination monitoring.
Sinabi rin ni Duque na ang pagbabakuna ay umaabot ng 20,000 kadao kada araw.
Pero may ilang LGU, gaya ng Maynila, na tumatagal ang usad ng vaccination drive dahil sa paghihintay ng doses ng bakuna mula sa gobyerno.
Sa ngayon, nasa 1.1 milyong COVID-19 vaccines mula sa kailangang 3.4 milyong doses para sa lahat ng health workers ang dumating sa bansa.
Inaasahan namang mapipirmahan ang supply agreement para sa 30 milyong doses ng Novavax COVID-19 vaccine sa pagbalik ni Galvez mula India.
Darating naman sa Marso ang 1 milyong dose ng bakuna ng Sinovac at dagdag na bakuna ng AstraZeneca.
Inaprubahan na rin ng Asian Development Bank ang kabuuang $900 milyon na utang sa pagbili ng Pilipinas ng mga bakuna kontra COVID-19.
— Ulat ni Vivienne Gulla, ABS-CBN News
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/12/21/usad-ng-pag-roll-out-ng-bakuna-kontra-covid-19-pinabibilisan
SC: PNP seeking from Calbayog RTC list of lawyers representing ‘communist-terrorist’ groups
The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Friday requested to get from a court a list of lawyers representing members of supposed "communist-terrorist" groups in the country, the Supreme Court said.
Supreme Court Spokesperson Brian Keith Hosaka said the Calbayog Regional Trial Court received the request signed by a certain PLT Fernando Calabria Jr. from the Calbayog City Police Station, but "no action" has been done by the said court so far.
Supreme Court spox Brian Keith Hosaka confirms Calbayog RTC received this afternoon PNP’s request for a list of lawyers representing “Communist Terrorist Group” personalities, but says “no action has been made by them on the request.” pic.twitter.com/6Wj5dR8jvo
— Mike Navallo (@mikenavallo) March 12, 2021
Calabria identified himself as the chief intel of their Station Drug Enforcement Unit (SDEU). The request was made "to the compliance from higher PNP offices."
The police also attached a table, which included a "mode of neutralization," and the lawyer's affiliations, among others.
Recently, Calbayog mayor Ronald Aquino was killed on Monday, an incident that left 6 people dead and described as a shootout by authorities.
Some have argued it was an ambush.
Aquino's ally, Samar 1st District Rep. Edgar Mary Sarmiento, had repeatedly alleged that the local chief executive was killed by rogue members of the national police.
Sarmiento said the police were wearing balaclavas and had high-powered firearms. The police have already formed a special investigation task group to probe the incident.
'AUDACIOUS REQUEST'
In a statement, the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers (NUPL) described the request as "audacious."
"This... request that is hard to refuse is the smoke in the gun traceable to the hand that pulled the trigger and the enablers of various attacks against lawyers especially human rights lawyers representing clients the State does not like," NUPL president Edre Olalia said.
Olalia added that it raised more questions about the incident, and floated the idea that the move is part of a bigger picture.
"It is at first unbelievable for its impudence but then again, it fits into the puzzle on the who, what, why and how of these attacks. The only remaining question is when and where," he said.
Aquino is the latest local official slain under President Rodrigo Duterte's administration. His death has brought to 25 the tally of local executives killed in this administration.
On Sunday, 9 activists were also killed in alleged police raids in provinces south of Manila.
— With a report from Mike Navallo, ABS-CBN News
Several senators hit PDP-Laban members for politicking amid COVID-19 pandemic
Several senators on Friday criticized some members of ruling party PDP-Laban for raising possible candidates for the 2022 presidential elections despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Lacson specifically scored PDP-Laban members who even openly discussed their plan of encouraging President Rodrigo Duterte to run as vice president in 2022. Duterte himself, meanwhile, said his long-time ally, Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go wants to become president.
Lacson said the money used to finance the “commissioned survey” should have just been donated to help the needy fight the pandemic.
"The timing is bad and insensitive to say the least," he said.
"Dapat ang focus ngayon ay sa lumalalang sitwasyon ng pandemya," he said.
(The focus now should be on the worsening pandemic.)
In a recent pre-election Pulse Asia survey, the tandem of Sen. Christopher "Bong" Go and President Rodrigo Duterte emerged as the preferred pair for President and Vice President in the 2022 elections, reports said.
Lacson was listed as a possible presidential contender, with Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso as his running mate.
Senators Francis Pangilinan and Joel Villanueva also slammed the survey.
"Especially now, with the rising cases of COVID and the slow vaccine rollout, we need to give full attention to managing the pandemic,” said Pangilinan, who was identified in the survey as the possible running-mate of opposition leader Vice President Leni Robredo.
"Unfortunately, nag-start na. Kumbaga sa basketball, papasok na ng arena ang mga player... unfortunately lahat tinitingnan na rin ang arena, 'yung 2022 elections," Villanueva said in a virtual press conference.
(Unfortunately, it has started. Just like in basketball, the players are starting to enter the arena... Unfortunately, the arena everybody is looking at is the 2022 elections.)
"I think all of us should reflect on what is happening. We have a serious problem," he said.
PDP-Laban resolution 'not legitimate'
PDP-Laban president Sen. Manny Pacquiao said the resolution was "not legitimate" and directed his partymates to refrain from discussing the 2022 national elections this early.
Pacquiao is another possible contender for the presidential race in 2022.
— Reports from Sherrie Ann Torres and Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News
Dividing Palawan: What's at stake?
It’s finally happening. After being postponed for nearly a year because of the pandemic, the plebiscite that will divide Palawan into three provinces is set to happen tomorrow, March 13. It is said to be a test case for how the Presidential elections next year will be conducted in a pandemic.
But more than being a test case, a lot is at stake in the division of the biggest province in the country in terms of land area. Palawan has nearly 15,000 square kilometers of land area. The provincial population, however, is less than a million.
Mainland Palawan stretches 500 kilometers from its northern tip to its southern tip, “almost the stretch of travelling from Bicol Region to the Ilocos Region,” according to the explanatory note of House Bill 7413.
Proponents of the division say that it will shatter the traditional center-periphery development pattern where everything emanates from the capitol in Puerto Princesa, making it difficult for resources to reach far-flung areas, especially island municipalities. Breaking down the province would mean three provincial governments, each with its own Internal Revenue Allotment, set of leaders, and a seat of government that is more accessible to the municipalities. This, they say, will fast track progress.
Those who oppose the division say that the reduction of the provincial government into three smaller local government units will make them more vulnerable to external security threats and exploitation by private firms interested in the area’s vast mineral and other natural resources.
Not all areas of Palawan are created equal. There are areas that have already gained headway because of investments made by past national and local governments, such as national roads or tourism development. Those who have been neglected by previous governments on the other hand, will remain struggling. While some areas are rich in natural resources, others are not.
Here, we take a closer look at the configuration of the three Palawan provinces should the yes votes win in the plebiscite. Will there be winners and losers in Palawan’s division?
PALAWAN DEL NORTE: most developed tourist destinations, biggest public airport outside Puerto Princesa City
In this province will belong Palawan’s most popular tourist destinations such as Coron, El Nido, and Calauit Safari.
The popularity of these destinations to local and foreign tourists alike is in large part due to the presence of the biggest public airport outside of Puerto Princesa City: the Francisco Reyes or Busuanga airport.
After the division, this province will have the fewest municipalities, with only six of Palawan’s 23 municipalities, compared to the eight and nine municipalities that its neighboring provinces will have.
While it is smallest in size, it’s not the smallest in terms of population. Its 253,000 residents account for some 27% of the total population of entire Palawan, based on the 2021 projected population by the Department of Health. This is bigger than Palawan Oriental’s 211,000 residents.
It is likewise in the middle in terms of poverty incidence. Five of its six municipalities have poverty incidence below 30% according to the 2015 Small Area Poverty Estimates by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). This means that less than 3 in every 10 residents are poor. Only one town, Linapacan, has a poverty incidence above 30%. This is still way below the poverty level of the poorest municipalities located in Palawan del Sur (more on this in the section below).
In terms of infrastructure, its combined paved national road length is 254 kilometers, second only to Palawan del Sur’s 476 kms.
PALAWAN ORIENTAL: lowest poverty incidence, two public airports, but lagging in terms of national paved roads
This prospective province has the fewest poor individuals because four of its municipalities have the lowest poverty incidence in entire Palawan: Cuyo, Magsaysay, Agutaya, and Roxas. There are only 1-2 poor individuals in these towns out of every 10 residents.
Even in Cagayancillo, the town with the most poor residents in Palawan Oriental, the poverty incidence is only 32%, which is still way below that of the poorest municipalities located in Palawan del Sur. The protected area of Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is part of this municipality.
The Long Beach Area of San Vicente town has been selected as one of the first Flagship Tourism Enterprise Zones, of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority. The program aims to develop an area into a sustainable tourism destination and improve the competitiveness of its products.
The San Vicente airport became operational in 2017 and now caters to commercial flights, boosting local tourism even further.
This province also has another smaller airport in the island municipality of Cuyo, where the posh Amanpulo resort is located, but the Cuyo airport only accommodates chartered flights.
Despite all this, Palawan Oriental lags the other two Palawan provinces in terms of national roads. It only has 86 kilometers of national paved roads, all located in the capital town of Roxas. By comparison, the paved national roads in the two mining towns of Quezon (105.4 kms) and Rizal (105.1 kms) in Palawan del Sur are even longer than that of Palawan Oriental’s.
National roads are important for an area’s economic development. The state of national roads is said to be among the indicators of an area’s progress. National primary roads connect major cities. National secondary roads, meanwhile, directly connect cities and provincial capitals within the same region. They also connect major ports, ferry terminals, airports, and major government infrastructure to national primary roads. There are also national tertiary roads under Department of Public Works and Highways that perform a local function.
By contrast, provincial, city, municipal, and barangay roads are under the local government.
Palawan Oriental has the smallest population size among the three prospective provinces, accounting for only 20% of the total population of Palawan. Its 211,000 residents are less than half of Palawan del Sur’s. It also has the fewest registered voters.
PALAWAN DEL SUR – presence of commercial mining sites, but residents remain poor. Longest paved road network, biggest population among the three prospective provinces.
All eight Mineral Production Sharing Agreements (MPSAs) in Palawan are located in five (out of the nine) municipalities in the prospective province of Palawan del Sur, according to data from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
The two commercial mining operations in entire Palawan are likewise located there: Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corp. in Bataraza and Berong Nickel Corp. in Quezon. These two municipalities are among those with the highest poverty incidence in entire Palawan, with some 4 in 10 residents in these towns classified as poor.
Aside from Bataraza and Quezon, two other municipalities in Palawan del Sur belong to the bottom poorest municipalities in entire Palawan: the municipality of Rizal, where 4 in 10 residents are poor, and Balabac, where half of all residents are considered poor, according to PSA’s 2015 Small Area Poverty Estimates.
Kalayaan municipality, comprised of a group of islands with some 200 residents located in the West Philippine Sea, is also part of Palawan del Sur.
Palawan del Sur has the longest paved national road network among the three prospective provinces with a combined total length of 476 kilometers. This is 1.87 times longer than that of Palawan del Norte and more than five times longer than that of Palawan Oriental.
It has the most municipalities with nine out of the 23 Palawan municipalities. It also accounts for more than half of the entire population of Palawan. Its 486,000 residents are double that of Palawan del Norte and more than double that of Palawan Oriental.
The towns of Bataraza, Brooke’s Point, and Narra are among the municipalities with the most registered voters in entire Palawan. Palawan del Sur has by far the most registered voters out of the three prospective Palawan provinces.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/multimedia/infographic/03/12/21/dividing-palawan-whats-at-stake
Residents to decide split of Palawan into 3 districts
By Celeste Anna Formoso
PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan - Election officials are urging the residents of 23 municipalities in Palawan on Thursday to go out and vote in the March 13 plebiscite that will decide whether the province should be split into three separate government units amid expectations that there will be a voter low turnout.
Palawan plebiscite commissioner-in-charge Antonio Kho Jr. of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said in a press conference at the VJR Hall of the Provincial Capitol in Puerto Princesa City that "it is all systems go" for the plebiscite that will decide if the province will be divided into Palawan del Sur, Palawan del Norte, and Palawan Oriental.
"It's all systems go for this plebiscite. Our people all over [the province] of Palawan are ready to conduct this plebiscite," Kho said, adding that materials for the coming referendum have already been delivered except for Kalayaan.
"Please convince [the voters] to participate in the plebiscite this Saturday. And please, to our voters, pumunta nang maaga para maiwasan ang crowding sa precincts and i-check agad sa voters list ang names ninyo. Ito ay para magkapagdesisyon sila sa future nila (go early to avoid crowding in precincts and check your names immediately in the voters' list. This is to decide your future)," Kho added.
For Kalayaan, he said the plebiscite paraphernalia will be delivered on March 12.
“We have a contingency plan. A boat will ferry the ballots tomorrow,” he said.
The poll body also asked Palawan residents to be “patient” as the plebiscite will be conducted manually, expecting the results to be tallied by March 16.
“After the polls closed, magbibilang sila manually. Dadalhin pa ‘yong balota physically sa canvassing sa munisipyo (... they will count manually. The ballots will be canvassed physically in the municipal building),” said Kho, explaining the difference with the previous 2019 local elections where election returns were sent to the board of canvassers “in just one press of a finger”.
An official total of 490,639 registered voters, with 2,959 clustered precincts and 487 voting centers, based on October 21, 2019, Comelec data, are expected to vote on either “Yes” or “No” during the Palawan plebiscite.
Comelec previously said they were expecting low voter turnout, with the highest recorded turnout for plebiscite only at 47 percent.
However, the voter turnout is “not necessary for the validity of the results” of the plebiscite, pointing out that only a majority vote will determine whether Palawan will become three provinces.
Comelec ready for March 13 Palawan plebiscite
COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Antonio Kho called on Palaweños to go out and cast their votes on Saturday, March 13, 2021, in the plebiscite aimed at ratifying a law dividing Palawan into three.
Comelec records show that there are a total of 490,639 registered voters in 2,959 clustered precincts in Palawan, currently the largest province in the country.
The plebiscite question is, "Pumapayag ka ba na hatiin ang Probinsya ng Palawan sa tatlong probinsya na papangalanang Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental, at Palawan del Sur alinsunod sa Batas Republika 11259?”
(Are you in favor of dividing Palawan Province into three, namely, Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental, at Palawan del Sur based on Republic Act 11259?)
Voters will just need to write the word "Yes" or "Oo" if they approve of the proposal, or "No" or "Hindi" if they disapprove.
In a press conference in Puerto Princesa City, Kho urged registered voters to participate in the electoral exercise.
"To our voters, please go out and vote. This plebiscite will be a consequential event for the province of Palawan. It is consequential in a sense that it will determine the future of Palawan," said Kho.
"We are asking for your support by heading to the polling precincts. Observe health standards and vote. Hopefully, we can quickly get the results and can declare who won as soon as possible," he added.
He said the results of the plebiscite may be expected around three days later, or on March 16.
"Hopefully, we could get the final results by the 16th. Although it may give or take a day or two so that we could determine if it is a 'yes' or a 'no'," said Kho.
Kho said Comelec will be using the manual system of elections.
"Considering that it is manual system, it may take time. This is unlike the national elections, where it is automated counting and transmission," he said.
At the close of voting at 3 pm, he said plebiscite committees will have to manually count each ballot and tally the votes.
The ballot boxes will then be physically transported to their respective municipalities.
"This will definitely take time. So, I will ask our voters to please have patience. We cannot expect results within a day," said Kho.
Meanwhile, the Comelec is not ruling out the possibility of postponing the plebiscite on Kalayaan Island, where there are nearly 400 registered voters as of the May 2019 elections.
This is due to the continued inability to bring the election paraphernalia to the island municipality in time for the plebiscite.
"The situation is still developing, and will be addressed at the appropriate time," said Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez in a separate interview.
"For now, there is still no indication that this will be necessary," he added.
As of press time, Jimenez said the election paraphernalia was already in the custody of the Kalayaan election officer, who was awaiting an opportunity to go back to El Nido. (HDT / SunStar Philippines)
Amid South China Sea dispute, Philippines’ Palawan is besieged by political split
- The Philippine province of Palawan is set to decide on a law that will divide the province into three: Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental and Palawan del Sur.
- Palawan stands on the Philippines’ western border and is the country’s sentinel in the maritime dispute in the South China Sea.
- Anti-division groups have raised concerns that the split will weaken the implementation and management of environmental programs Palawan has been known for, and in the process, endanger the province’s already threatened ecology.
- Palawan’s marine ecosystems have been under constant threat from illegal fishing and poaching by foreign vessels encroaching on its waters.
MANILA — Palawan is an outlier in the Philippine archipelago, its topography and habitat closer to that of Borneo than the rest of the country’s major islands. This so-called last ecological frontier is under siege on two fronts: internally, politicians want the island carved up into smaller administrative regions; externally, it stands as a buffer against threats from a superpower across the sea.
On March 13, half a million of Palawan’s population will vote in a plebiscite calling to split up the island into three provinces — north, south, and central Palawan — and leaving its capital, Puerto Princesa, as a separate chartered city, excluded from voting for the province’s future.
The idea, approved by Congress in 2018 and signed by President Rodrigo Duterte a year later, was met by an uproar from environmentalists and settler families who have eschewed the clan-run patronage politics practiced elsewhere in the Philippines. Critics also say the threat of breaking up the island could not have come at a worse time, with the COVID-19 pandemic compounding a maritime dispute with Beijing in the South China Sea.
The plan to break up the islands has, however, been applauded by political clans who have long pushed for the division; three new provinces create more political positions to farm out.
The group of congresspeople and some local government officials pushing for the division say there is higher revenue to be generated out of this undertaking. They say the split is estimated to yield a 10% increase in each new province’s internal revenue allotment (IRA), the yearly budget handed out by the national government to augment a province’s earnings. In their view, having three administrations instead of one governing the island will kill two birds with one stone: social services will be more accessible and officials will be “closer to the people.”
Opponents of the division warn of a drastic shift in the management of the natural resources Palawan is known for, raising concerns about a possible weakening of the enforcement laws that protect the province’s already threatened ecology.
Whims and wills
The island has come a long way from the penal colony that it once was, to an ecotourism haven; a shift from being a laid-back island province to an international destination for backpackers and jet-setters, famous even by Hollywood standards. For decades, Palawan banked on its natural resources and sustainable practices to provide livelihood for communities and boost its earnings, all heavily hinged on proper environmental management.
The measure being put up for a vote lays out the political structure of a new Palawan region, but remains vague on the implementation of various programs, particularly on environmental management.
Significantly, under the new law the appointment of a Provincial Environment and Natural Resources (PENRO) position is “optional,” and the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD), the current overseer of environmental regulations, will have to have three officials as de facto heads of the council, a prospect that might stymie or create delays in decision-making.
With the environment a devolved sector in Philippine governance, groups say the unclear management structure will depend on political whims and wills, as it is municipalities, after all, that fund the hiring of forest and marine guards.
The possible rise in revenue also isn’t what it seems, says Ferdie Blanco, a strategic planning specialist and part of the ONE Palawan movement opposing the island’s partition. Palawan remains heavily dependent on the IRA from the national government, and the state of infrastructure and basic services remains inadequate, he said. So why break it up when development should be the focus, he asks.
And while the island may obtain wealth in terms of extractive industry, proceeds from large-scale mining in the south and gas field exploration in the north will be distributed separately to the three provincial governments if the law is passed.
Under current laws, municipalities and barangays (villages) affected by large-scale extractive projects earn through a revenue-sharing scheme with the national government. In the revenue allotted for local governments, municipalities and barangays are entitled 35% and 45% each of the revenue generated by these industries, leaving 20% for provincial offices. But the new law will overturn this: provincial governments stand to gain 60%, cutting down the shares of municipalities to 24% and barangays, the smallest political units in the country, to 16%.
“A community that hosts a mining site should have the biggest share because they are directly affected by these projects,” Blanco says. “But the division law reverses this … This allocation is far from equitable.”
He compares the economic performances of other provinces that have been split into smaller units and cites two trends: Divided provinces reported higher poverty rates, and one province becomes a “laggard,” left behind in terms of progress. In Palawan, Blanco says this is likely to be the middle part of the island, which would be called Palawan Oriental and where a majority of residents depend on low-income fishing and agriculture.
While the province is on the front lines of conservation in the country, with its protected areas regarded as model initiatives, Palawan also suffers from a wide range of destructive activity, from poaching to wildlife trafficking, largely due to the fact that it does not have enough enforcers, and, often, political will to crack down on the illegal trades.
Palawan is considered the “hottest hotspot” in the Philippines’ wildlife trafficking routes, according to USAID’s Protect Wildlife project, also citing intelligence reports showing the involvement of “influential people that maintain a network of perpetrators.”
The island is home to more than 400 wildlife species, most of them found nowhere else on Earth. The island likewise boasts of having one-eighteenth of the world’s biodiversity, says Aldrin Mallari of the Center for Conservation Innovations.
Around 36% of the country’s marine species comes from the waters off the island’s 2,000-kilometer (1,240-mile) coastline, says Oceana Philippines, a conservation NGO. Fisheries statistics show Palawan is the top province in terms of fish volume production, valued at 14 million pesos ($288,000) in 2019 – a huge amount for fishers who are considered among the poorest in the country.
Palawan, too, has the largest forest cover of any province in the Philippines, but every year it loses an average of 13,323 hectares (32,922 acres) to mostly illegal logging that takes place on the range of Mount Mantalingahan — one the island province’s largest protected areas. If the new measure to split up the province succeeds, the protection of the mountain will fall under the sole jurisdiction of what will be called Palawan del Sur province in the south.
Central Palawan covers the Victoria-Anepahan mountain range, home of the critically endangered Philippine pangolin (Manis culionensis), a scaly anteater that’s become increasingly rare to spot in the wild due to poaching and wildlife trafficking. Municipal authorities are still in the long process of crafting a “harmonized management system” among the local government units — already a challenge under a single province, and expected to become more complicated under three.
As the plebiscite nears, the people are just as divided, with the northerners generally against breaking up the province, while those in the south, which has already seen profits from mining and the prospects of oil palm plantations on Indigenous lands, are said to favor it.
Dynastic politics
Governor Jose Alvarez, the prime mover behind the split, has painted a picture of northern Palawan sticking to the business of tourism, and southern Palawan being turned into a grand economic zone.
Alvarez, who hails from Mindanao in the southern Philippines, has risen to political power through the years since he first established his presence as one of the biggest logging concessionaires on the island. In the early 1990s, his business took a hit when a nationwide logging ban was imposed and Palawan was put under the scope of a strategic environmental plan.
He stayed, funding advocacy projects and programs across municipalities and eventually running for office in 2010. He failed on his first attempt, but won by a landslide in 2013, remaining in office for three consecutive terms, the maximum allowed. His support for splitting up the province is a common tactic for political clans seeking to expand their domain; the splitting of other Philippine provinces has allowed the ruling dynasties there to continue occupying congressional and local government seats.
Governor Alvarez’s plan, seen through this lens, will likely benefit his family links and loyal allies; his relatives hold pivotal posts in Palawan province. But in the current geopolitical climate, Palawan stands as a sentinel in what the government calls the West Philippine Sea, and its place on the map has become critical.
Environmentalists are wary of Alvarez’s designs, saying his plan of dividing Palawan is one driven by a political agenda and done without consultation with civil society and other special interest groups.
The governor has, for example, already pushed for the exemption of specific protected areas from the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (E-NIPAS). He said it would restrict development projects in those areas; but just before the pandemic lockdown in early 2020, the province passed an ordinance creating a new council to oversee the management of all of Palawan’s protected areas.
Bordering disputed waters
The capital, Puerto Princesa, has seen drastic changes over the past few decades. Once a sleepy town, its commercial boom has shaken up environmental rules. A highway built in 2007 that runs from the city to the north, where tourism flourishes, has sped up the rate of business, but failed to regulate a mushrooming tourism industry that has largely broken the principles of conservation.
The capital itself has turned into a crowded urban center where a growing number of tour groups from mainland China have caused friction with the local population. There are fears the situation could get worse as foreign tour operators try to monopolize the business in what the locals call “an invasion.”
In late 2019, a scandal erupted when a military raid on an apartment unearthed a huge cache of dried pangolin scales, seahorses and marine turtle carapace for smuggling. The foiled smuggling attempt allegedly involved a Chinese businessman previously involved in wildlife trafficking and suspected of smuggling in Chinese nationals working for online gambling operations.
The past six months saw an uptick in the poaching of giant clams with authorities seizing at least 150 tons of fossilized shells buried in the sand across various areas in the province. Seen as a replacement for ivory, Palawan’s giant clams have been the target of Chinese poachers.
More than anything, Palawan is now on the front line of geopolitical tension in the South China Sea, bracing itself for any possibility of a flashpoint. Its southern coastline is a jumping-off point to Thitu Island, otherwise known as the Kalayaan Island Group, occupied by the Philippines to mark its territory among the tiny islands, shoals and reefs that China says falls within its own “nine-dash line” — a controversial maritime border Beijing wields to lay claim over the vast expanse of the South China Sea.
For the past five years, the presence of foreign vessels within what the Philippines considers its maritime areas has increased. The country’s fisheries bureau has classified Palawan’s western coast as a fisheries management area, within it the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in portions of the Spratly Islands identified as part of the Philippines’ continental shelf by The Hague ruling — areas mostly occupied by the Chinese military and its newly built bases.
Heat maps based on a technology called visible infrared imaging radiometer suite (VIIRS) show that the majority of boats roaming in this area are foreign fleets: if a boat has lighting equipment powerful enough to be picked up by VIIRS, it is almost certainly a large vessel or part of a major fishing fleet rather than belonging to an artisanal fisher.
In the Kalayaan island group, VIIRS detected about 59,000 boats in 2016. But foreign intrusion in the country’s western coast in 2019 went up to almost 133,000 boat detections. These figures, monitored by sources who do not wish to be named, reveal how much of poaching, commercial fishing legal or otherwise, or military patrolling have taken over the island’s spawning ground.
There have been reports of boats identified as those coming from Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan, and China — countries that also stake a claim to portions of the South China Sea — as well as from Japan, which appears to be more interested in catching tuna. The heat signatures, which appear as dots on a map, also significantly picked up the lights that were monitored pointed to Chinese vessels.
Such incursions have cost the Philippines billions of pesos in losses of its natural resources, something the Constitution says should be protected. Palawan alone has been unable to stop these, and with issues of national security, it is even more helpless, especially since President Duterte made a U-turn in Philippine foreign policy and started an open-arms policy with China when he was elected in 2016.
“We don’t want to go to war,” Duterte said repeatedly in various public speeches, casting aside incidents of Chinese fleets sinking the boats of artisanal fishers as “accidents” and downplaying reports of community fishers going hungry for being deprived access to the high seas.
With the pandemic forcing the economy into a recession, the Philippines, like its neighbors in Southeast Asia, has turned to Beijing to aid its recovery despite growing local sentiments against China. Last October, Duterte lifted a six-year moratorium on mineral exploration in the South China Sea, potentially reopening a shuttered natural gas drilling deal between the Philippines, China and Vietnam.
What this coming plebiscite in Palawan might boil down to is a choice between cohesion and division. Palawan has had much to deal with in the past two decades; through those years it tried to keep its reputation of being the last frontier.
With the division, the task of protecting Palawan’s and the country’s maritime borders, already beset by politicking and resource limitations, will add more layers of jurisdiction and could potentially complicate coordination processes, groups say. Those against the law prefer the island together — to keep it from falling apart.
Criselda Yabes is a prize-winning journalist and book author. Her latest book, The Battle of Marawi, explores the military strategies that brought an ISIS-inspired faction to its knees.
Leilani Chavez is Mongabay’s staff writer in the Philippines.
All set for Palawan plebiscite
All is set for the holding of the plebiscite tomorrow to ratify the law dividing Palawan into three provinces.
“Our people all over Palawan are ready to conduct the plebiscite,” Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Antonio Kho told a press briefing in Puerto Princesa yesterday.
“Hopefully we can get the final results by March 16 although it may take a day or two before we determine if it is a yes or it is a no,” Kho said.
He 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.
Comelec deputy executive director for operations Teopisto Elnas said all election paraphernalia have been delivered, except those for Kalayaan Islands.
The poll body said it expects around 500,000 registered voters to participate in the plebiscite.
Strict health protocols shall be implemented in polling precincts to be opened at 7 a.m. Only five voters will be allowed at any given time.
Voting will be done manually with voters required to write yes or oo if they approve of the proposal or no or hindi if they disapprove.
https://www.philstar.com/nation/2021/03/12/2083638/all-set-palawan-plebiscite