Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Bulacan imposes curfew, liquor ban to curb COVID-19 spread
The provincial government of Bulacan has imposed a curfew and liquor ban, beginning Wednesday in a move to stem the spread of COVID-19.
Curfew hours will be from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. Only those in need of emergency services and those allowed to work in permitted industries, provided they show proof of identification and work schedules, are exempted.
In Executive Order No. 8, series of 2021, signed by Gov. Daniel Fernando on Tuesday, the local government also ordered a province-wide liquor ban which covers the sale, transport, and consumption of alcoholic beverages.
The provincial government will also implement border quarantine checkpoints.
Aside from these measures, the provincial government urged the public to observe the minimum health protocols, including wearing of face masks and face shields, hand hygiene, cough etiquette and physical distancing at all times.
All directives under EO No. 8 will take effect until April 17, 2021.
Meanwhile, the provincial capitol is temporarily closed on Wednesday and will resume operation on Thursday, March 18, to give way to the disinfection of the main building.
As of Tuesday, the province has 1,175 active COVID-19 cases.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/17/21/bulacan-imposes-curfew-liquor-ban-to-curb-covid-19-spread
House OKs stiffer penalties for driving under influence of drugs, liquor
Voting 203-0, the House of Representatives has approved on final reading House Bill 8914, providing stiffer penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol, dangerous drugs, and other similar substances.
The bill will be submitted to the Senate for action.
Under the proposed law, a driver found to have been driving a motor vehicles under the influence of alcohol, dangerous drugs and other similar substances will be penalized as follows:
- if the violation did not result in physical injuries or homicide, the penalty of 6 months imprisonment and a fine ranging from P50,000 to P100,000.
- if the violation resulted in physical injuries, the applicable paragraph of article 263 of the the Revised Penal Code in its maximum period or the penalty provided in the preceding paragraph, whichever is higher and a fine ranging from P150,000 to P250,000.
-if the violation resulted in homicide, the penalty provided in Article 249 of the Revised Penal Code in its maximum period and a fine ranging from P350,000 to P550,000 shall be imposed.
The non-professional driver’s license of any person who violated the law will be confiscated and suspended for 18 months for the first conviction and perpetually revoked for the second conviction. - report from RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News
House OKs ban on illegal drag racing
Voting 205-0-0, the House of Representatives has approved on final reading House Bill 8916 or the proposed "Illegal Drag Racing Ban Act.”
The bill will be sent to the Senate for its action.
The bill declares drag racing illegal if not sanctioned or without the authority of the concerned agencies or the local government unit having jurisdiction of the place where the drag racing was held.
It imposes the following penalties for drag racing: a fine of not less than P300,000 but not more than P500,000 and or imprisonment of one year on the participants and promoters or organizers at the discretion of the court; confiscation and suspension of drivers’ license of the participants for a period of six months and requiring them to undergo a seminar prescribed by the Land Transportation Officer before they can redeem their licenses; perpetual disqualification to hold a driver’s license for participants who commit the offense a second time and impounding the vehicle used ion illegal drag racing subject to the payment of reasonable storage fees according to the reasonable schedule of fees imposed by the LTO as approved by the Transportation Secretary.
It requires the Department of Transportation to work with the Department of Interior and Local Government, the Philippine National Police, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and the local government units to ensure the implementation of the proposed law. - report from RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/16/21/house-oks-ban-on-illegal-drag-racing
Tuesday, March 16, 2021
Is Tomorrow Distracting You From Today?
Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.” Luke 12:22
My friend Wayne Pederson used to sign his letters and e-mails with the words, “Focus forward!” No more. He’s changed the complimentary close to read, “Seize Today!” He discovered that when he was always focused forward, pushing to reach goals and objectives, he missed a lot of the view on the journey. Here’s how he describes it: “At a meeting I was checking e-mail when the leader asked me a question. I had entirely tuned out of the discussion. Busted!
“My administrative assistant was telling me something important as I thumbed through the growing pile of papers on my desk. She called me on it. “You’re not listening to me, are you? Busted!
“I was on the phone with a friend, but was typing e-mails when he was talking. He must have heard the clicking of my keyboard, because he stopped mid-sentence and asked: “You’re not doing e-mail are you?” Busted!
Then he asked, “How many times have we guys been preoccupied with our own thoughts while the dearest person in the world was telling us something very important to her world? ‘Remember, I told you that last week.'” Busted again!
As these events all began to come into focus in his personal life, Wayne came to the conclusion that he was so focused on what he wanted to see happen in the future that he was missing what was happening today. He confessed what a lot of us should admit. “When I go running,” he said, “instead of enjoying the fresh air, the sights and the exercise, I find myself thinking, ‘I can’t wait until this is over.'”
Waiting for a flight, he picked up a book at the airport entitled The Present, by Spencer Johnson. Says this popular business-oriented author, “When you receive the present, you no longer spend your time dreaming about being somewhere else. You’re intent only on what’s happening at that moment. Being in the present means focusing on what is happening right now.”
And when all of this came together, Wayne began to realize that it was time to make some personal adjustments and change his focus from forward to today! He concludes, “When I’m with my grandkids, I’m no longer thinking about that article I have to write. When I’m running…, I’m going to enjoy the view. And when I’m in a meeting, I’m not going to be checking e-mail or writing notes for my next meeting. And if you catch me doing that, look at me and say, ‘Busted!'” (Used with permission of the writer).
Wayne Pederson has lots of company, too, because a host of us are living in the netherworld of multitasking—trying to be all things to all people, never saying, “No,” striving to please everyone at the cost of our families, our equilibrium, and, certainly, our peace of mind.
“Daddy, do you know what you just said ‘Yes’ to, asked one little boy whose daddy was reading the sports section of the paper and watching a game on TV at the same time.
Smell the flowers, take time to enjoy the wonder of your children discovering something, notice the smile of your wife, and enjoy the squeeze of her hand in yours. No wonder the Bible mentions today some 194 times while it mentions tomorrow only 81 times. God’s focus is on today. It’s the only time in your life that you can do anything about. It’s still true: “Yesterday is a cancelled check. Tomorrow is a promissory note. Today is a gift given to us to enjoy. That’s why it’s called the present.”
Wayne Pederson is right on target: Seize Today! Jesus said, “Don’t worry about tomorrow. Today has enough problems of its own.”
Resource reading: Luke 12:13-34
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/is-tomorrow-distracting-you-from-today/
‘No’ votes prevail in Palawan plebiscite — Comelec
The proposed split of Palawan into three provinces has been rejected based on a plebiscite that was conducted last Saturday, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
According to Comelec, official results showed 122,223 voted for “yes” for dividing Palawan into three, while 172,304 voted “no.”
“It is finished. Proclamation done. NO won in Palawan plebiscite,” Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon said over Twitter.
The plebiscite for Republic Act No. 11259, which seeks to divide Palawan into three provinces, posted a 60.06 percent voter turnout, according to the poll body.
The Comelec earlier declared the plebiscite—the first electoral process conducted in the country since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic—as a success, saying no reports of violence and disruptions were made during the voting process.
Palawan Governor Jose Alvarez on Monday formally accepted defeat in the plebiscite, as he expressed disappointment over what he claimed was a missed opportunity to improve governance in the province.
The Palawan plebiscite is expected to become a guide for the upcoming 2022 national elections, where health protocols against COVID-19 will be enforced.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1407805/no-votes-prevail-in-palawan-plebiscite-comelec
‘No’ votes win in Palawan plebiscite
Palawan residents reject splitting the province into 3
It’s final: Palawan remains as one province.
The Commission on Elections’ Provincial Plebiscite Board of Canvassers proclaimed on 5:30 pm March 16 that the “no” vote won in the plebiscite that asked residents if they agreed to ratify Republic Act 11259 which splits Palawan into Palawan Del Norte, Palawan Oriental and Palawan Del Sur.
Winning in 19 out of 23 municipalities, the “no” vote garnered 172,304 against the “yes” vote with 122,223, according to a 5 pm post on Comelec's Facebook page.
LOOK: Official partial results of the #PalawanPlebiscite as of 5:00 P.M., March 16, 2021.
Posted by COMELEC on Tuesday, March 16, 2021
Grassroots-initiated One Palawan, with few resources and largely reliant on campaigning in social and traditional media to gather support, described the March 13 plebiscite here as a duel between Bible characters, David and Goliath. “And David hurls a stone from his sling and hits Goliath in the center of his forehead, Goliath falls on his face to the ground,” campaigner Cynthia del Rosario earlier wrote on a Facebook status.
In a Rappler interview, Del Rosario said: “ The big lesson for the politicians who attempted to divide Palawan into 3 is to make sure that the desire actually came from the people. They need to consult and include the people from the beginning. The desire of a few cannot win over the desire of the majority.”
One Palawan was up against the provincial government, led by Palawan Governor Jose Alvarez, a business magnate and prime proponent of RA 11259, which was a reincarnation of similar thwarted proposals by politicians, one dated as early as the 1960s. When Alvarez won in the 2016 elections, he mounted a strong push to revive the proposal and met with municipal mayors, barangay chairpersons, and local business people to gather support for the bid.
In December 2017, the provincial legislature passed a resolution in support of the move. The bill breezed through Congress, passed by the House in August 2018 and the Senate in November that same year. President Rodrigo Duterte signed the bill into law on April 13, 2019, setting into motion a rigorous online and offline debate among residents.
The coalition opposition group claimed that the law contained provisions that go against the Philippine Constitution and the Local Government Code, including amendments to the natural wealth-sharing agreement, non-consultation of the the general public, and exclusion of Puerto Princesa residents in the consultation and in the plebiscite.
On June 26, 2019, One Palawan took its case to the Supreme Court, hoping a writ of prohibition would render Republic Act 11259 null and void. But the highest court, in a decision penned by Associate Justice Andres B. Reyes Jr. on March 10, 2020, ruled in favor of the assailed law, voting 15-0. The initial plebiscite schedule was set for May 11, 2020, but it was postponed due to the pandemic lockdown and only pushed through last weekend.
“We knew that it is going to be a difficult battle for us when we lost in the Supreme Court. The proponents held all the cards…We had to face them in the plebiscite knowing that the odds were not in our favor. They know the game pretty well and we didn't. We just relied on volunteerism or 'bayanihan' since we didn't have enough funds,” said del Rosario.
“Our efforts paid off, the people of Palawan have woken up. They have started to self-organize and mobilize in their communities during the last days of the campaign period. We won thru the collective effort of the people of Palawan.”
https://www.rappler.com/nation/no-votes-win-palawan-plebiscite
Palawan rejects dividing province into three
The people of Palawan rejected dividing the province into three new entities, the official final results of the plebiscite showed Tuesday.
According to Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesperson James Jimenez, the Board of Canvassers canvassed a total of 172,304 'no' votes and 122,223 'yes' votes with only one municipality left unaccounted for.
“Canvass results from Kalayaan are not expected to arrive today, due to the unavailability of transport. Kalayaan has 281 registered voters,” Jimenez said.
Jimenez said Oppositor earlier made the motion to terminate the canvass "in view of the insurmountability of the lead enjoyed by the NO votes."
He added the Proponent later joined and did not object the motion of the Oppositor.
Twenty-two out of 23 municipalities have been canvassed with a voter turn-out of 60%.
Meanwhile, Comelec Commissioner Antonio Kho Jr. extended his gratitude to the participants of the plebiscite.
“So the Provincial Board already proclaimed that the no votes got the highest, thereby rejecting the division of Palawan into three provinces. We would like to congratulate the voters for participating actively in this vote,” he said in a live briefing.
He also thanked the teachers, military and police personnel, and health professionals for their participation.
Kho said the poll body delivered on its promise to count the vote correctly as he urged the public to continue participating in the elections.
“May susunod ho tayong election, no, ‘yung pinakamalaki na sa 2022. Tulungan ninyo rin po kami. I hope media will be an active participant… para ganito rin ang magiging kalabasan. Magandang resulta ng election,” he said.
“We heard the voice of the people from Palawan,” he added.
The law, signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2019, will divide Palawan into three provinces: Palawan del Norte, Palawan del Sur, and Palawan Oriental.—AOL, GMA News
Sitwasyon ng health workers, lumubha pa umano matapos ang isang taon: AHW
Matapos ang isang taong sakripisyo ng health workers mula nang tamaan ang bansa ng COVID-19 pandemic, para sa Alliance of Health Workers, lumubha pa ang kanilang sitwasyon ngayon.
Paliwanag sa TeleRadyo ni Robert Mendoza, AHW national president, nakakalungkot aniya dahil marami ngayon ang tinatamaan ng COVID.
Hindi pa rin daw nareresolba ang problema sa understaffing, at dumoble pa ang pangangailangan dahil marami ang nag-resign at nag-early retirement. Dahil dito, sobra-sobra pa rin ang oras na ginugugol ng mga hospital staff.
Bukod dito, may mga benepisyo pa ring hindi umano natatanggap ang mga health workers, gaya ng meal allowance.
“Dapat tugunan ang aming pangangailangan, kagalingan upang mapaglingkuran namin nang maayos ang mga pasyente. And then, itaas sana ang aming sahod, ibigay ang mga benepisyo, dagdagan ang personnel upang malutas ang malubhang understaffing at mahabang oras (sa trabaho)," sabi ni Mendoza.
"Sa ngayon po, ganun pa rin ang kanilang time - 12 hrs, na dapat 8 hours lang. Pagod na pagod ang ating health workers po,” dagdag niya.
Sa datos ng AHW, higit 15,200 na health workers na ang tinamaan ng COVID. Ang mga namatay ay 82 na.
- TeleRadyo 16 Marso 2021
PH logs 4,437 new COVID-19 cases, 5th straight day that daily count tops 4,000
The Philippines on Tuesday reported 4,437 more COVID-19 cases, raising the country’s cumulative total to 631,320.
This is the 5th straight day that daily infections exceeded 4,000 after the country detected more cases of new COVID-19 variants that are reportedly more transmissible.
Active cases stood at 57,736, comprising 9.1 percent of the country's total recorded cases, the Department of Health’s (DOH) latest bulletin showed.
Recoveries increased by 166 to 560,736.
The health department, meanwhile, recorded 11 additional COVID-related fatalities, bringing the death toll to 12,848.
Seven laboratories failed to submit data to the COVID-19 Data Repository System on Monday, the agency said.
The DOH earlier in the day reiterated that health protocol breaches and the loosening of lockdowns were behind the recent spike in new COVID-19 cases.
Researchers from the OCTA Research group projected that daily cases in the country could reach up to 11,000 if the current trend continues.
The independent research unit said the production (R) or the number of people infected by a virus patient increased to 2.03. An R value above 1 can lead to exponential growth.
The development came as the country’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout happened, with around 216,000 Filipinos, mostly medical frontliners and armed personnel, already inoculated against the disease.
Kasunod ng Palawan plebiscite, Comelec tutok na sa halalan 2022
Adrian Ayalin, ABS-CBN News
Nakatutok na ngayon ang Commission on Elections (Comelec) sa paghahanda sa general elections sa 2022 kasunod ng plebisito kaugnay sa paghahati ng Palawan, na ayon sa isang opisyal ng komisyon ay nagsilbing “laboratory” sa kung paano dapat idaos ang darating na halalan sa gitna ng patuloy na pandemya.
Ayon kay Comelec Commissioner Antonio Kho Jr., na nagsilbing commissioner-in-charge sa Palawan division plebiscite, inatasan siya na pamunuan ang “new normal committee” para sa national elections sa susunod na taon.
“Ano’ng ibig sabihin no’n? ‘Yong new normal committee will be the committee that will form the guidelines on how to conduct the 2022 election under the pandemic situation,” paliwanag ni Kho ngayong Martes.
Itinuturing na matagumpay ng Comelec ang pagdaraos ng plebisito sa Palawan, kung saan pinagbotohan kung hahatiin ang probinsiya sa Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental at Palawan del Sur. Sa ngayon, lamang ang mga botong tumatanggi sa paghahati sa probinsiya.
Nakapagpatupad kasi ng mga health protocol sa mga polling precinct gaya ng plastic sheet sa pagitan ng mga voting booth at “isolation polling place” para sa mga botante na nakuhanan ng temperaturang 37.5 degrees Celsius.
“Itong Palawan na plebisito na ito will be considered as our laboratory on how elections should be held under a pandemic situation so definitely mga ginawa natin dito will have an impact doon sa policies na gagawin natin sa 2022,” ani Kho.
Patunay rin ang voter turnout sa Palawan plebiscite sa pagtitiwala ng mga tao sa safety protocols na ipinatupad ng Comelec, ayon kay Kho.
“Probably ‘yong policies na ginawa natin dito for Palawan plebiscite also convinced people to vote so probably, it gave them confidence na ‘pag pumunta sila sa presinto, safe naman sila,” aniya.
Nasa P150 milyon ang ginastos ng provincial government para sa plebisito, base na rin sa budget na itinakda ng Comelec, ayon kay Kho.
“It may appear to be large but I understand this is a worthy experiment kasi nakita natin ang sentimyento ng tao, an exercise of democracy is an expensive one,” ani Kho.
Sa ngayon, na-canvass na ang mga boto mula sa 18 ng 23 bayan ng Palawan, kung saan nangunguna pa rin ang “no” votes na 158,501 kompara sa “yes” na 116,436.
Comelec: Palawan plebiscite results out within the week
Results of a plebiscite that seeks to divide Palawan into 3 provinces could be announced within the week, a poll official said Tuesday.
Commission on Elections spokesperson James Jimenez, in an interview with ANC, said the poll body had already canvassed votes cast in 18 of 23 municipalities.
"Well, we've already canvassed I think 18 out of 23 and we are scheduled to reconvene today at 2 p.m. So, I imagine that we are really close to proclamation now,” he said.
"Could be within the week, could be today," he added.
Votes rejecting the proposed split were leading, according to initial canvassing of plebiscite results as of Monday.
Jimenez estimated the voter turnout to be more than 60 percent.
"For the most part, people expected this to be a low turnout event. But again, the reality on the ground proved everyone otherwise," he said.
The poll body, meanwhile, recorded a handful of election-related incident reports that could not be considered "serious."
"For instance, there was a report of some barangay officials trying to prevent people from voting but that was resolved very quickly. But there were no significant incident reports, no violence, no disruption of the voting," Jimenez said.
The Comelec earlier declared the weekend plebiscite a success, which has been postponed for nearly a year because of the pandemic.
The plebiscite result will determine whether Palawan will be divided into Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental and Palawan del Sur.
Palawan Governor Jose Alvarez had conceded defeat in his push to see it divided into 3 new provinces.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/16/21/comelec-palawan-plebiscite-results-out-within-the-week
'No' votes in plebiscite for dividing Palawan leading, partial unofficial results show
Partial and unofficial results of the plebiscite for the ratification of a law dividing Palawan into three provinces showed that "no" votes are leading as the voter turnout reached 60.97%, a Commission on Elections (Comelec) official said Tuesday.
As of 6 a.m., 172,345 voted against the ratification of the law dividing Palawan, while 122,343 voted for it, Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon said.
“High turnout despite the pandemic and heavy rains,” she said on Twitter.
The Provincial Board of Canvassers will reconvene at 2 p.m. on Tuesday to continue the count.
The law, signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2019, will divide Palawan into three provinces: Palawan del Norte, Palawan del Sur and Palawan Oriental.
They will be created upon approval by the majority of the votes cast by the voters of the affected areas in a plebiscite conducted and supervised by the Comelec. —Joviland Rita/KG, GMA News
Monday, March 15, 2021
Why Hope Is Essential For Life
I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints. Psalm 52:9
The late Dr. Karl Menninger, the famed psychiatrist, was intrigued by the emotion hope. Many studies have been done relative to the importance of love and faith; but as a psychiatrist, Dr. Menninger became convinced of hope’s great importance related to survival. Hope is the enduring quality of the soul that gives strength to live and go on in the darkest of night.
Some time ago the world waited with bated breath for word that a group of miners, trapped in an eastern Pennsylvania coal mine, had survived. It seemed there was no hope for the safety of these men, though rescue operations frantically continued. Down below in the mine, the trapped men also began to wonder if there was any chance of rescue. For several days they tapped the timbers overhead, then they strained every fiber of their beings listening for a return sound that would let them know that rescue was on the way. In time the rescue team did hear the tapping. As they listened, faintly yet clearly distinct, came the question tapped in Morse code: Is there any hope?
Hope is the very lifeblood of human existence. The grim wars that our world has faced have proven without question that a person can endure almost impossible circumstances if he or she has hope. People have survived the horrors of concentration camps, the gnawing hunger of starvation, and the intense suffering of torture when they had hope they would survive.
Any hospital chaplain will tell you that hope is the secret of survival, for if a person has hope that he will live, he can endure almost any amount of suffering. A person may face an illness where the odds are against recovery, but if there is hope, the individual will fight on. Hope is often a more powerful medicine than the strongest antibiotic. It is an indescribable mainstay to the souls of people. It brings life where death seems inevitable.
Interestingly enough, this fact has been scientifically proven at the Johns Hopkins Research Center. Dr. Curt Richter, directing a psychobiological study, tells that when rats were put into a hopeless situation they gave up and died even though food and water were present. If, however, the hopeless feature was removed, the animals would fight to survive and did survive.
Dr. Charles Malik, former head of the United Nations General Assembly, has said that hope for a world in crisis depends upon the things in which we can trust. A man who faces surgery must base his hope for survival upon a trust in his surgeon. A man who faces the agonies of war responds to the love of his wife who is waiting for him. He has hope because he has her love.
The law of hope operates just as surely in the realm of the spiritual. A person who is trusting Christ as his personal Savior has an enduring hope of eternal life that will never fail. The writer of the book of Hebrews, in the New Testament, described this hope as “an anchor of the soul both sure and steadfast” (Hebrews 6:19). He said that we can find refuge and lay hold of the hope that is before us. This hope is Jesus, who has provided a way of salvation for those who look to Him.
Despair is the very opposite of hope. And that’s what happens when you see no possible solution. It is then that you give up and lose your hold on life. When you ask hope to walk with you through each crisis, you have hope for the future. Trust Him, friend, and let Him take you through your despair.
Resource reading: Hebrews 6
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/why-hope-is-essential-for-life/
With 60 percent voter turnout, Comelec says Palawan plebiscite a success
The Commission on Elections on Monday said the recent plebiscite in Palawan can be considered successful so far, even as the canvassing of votes continues.
Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said based on reports, voter turnout is expected at 60 percent.
"I would say mataas ang turnout. As the reports are coming in, it looks like aabot tayo ng 60 percent ng voter turnout, which is very high, considering this is a plebiscite," he told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo.
The plebiscite, which was held last Saturday, was also peaceful, with the people "very accepting" of the results so far.
"This early, I would say that the public has been very accepting of the results. They've remained vigilant, certainly, but by and large, people have accepted the outcome of the plebiscite," Jimenez said.
"By these metrics, we can say the elections were successful," he added.
As of 10 a.m. Monday, poll officials have finished canvassing the votes cast in 8 municipalities. They are expecting to finish in 8 more within the day, or a total of 16 out of Palawan's 23 municipalities.
So far, "no" votes are leading in the results.
Jimenez, however, said it is still too early to announce the result of the plebiscite.
"The only time we can do that is when the lead of one side already exceeds the number of votes that have not yet been counted," he said, adding that there is only a small difference in the results in some municipalities.
With the success of the plebiscite in Palawan, Jimenez said the health protocols implemented in the province can also be implemented on a larger scale during the 2022 national elections.
"This is basically 2022 on a smaller scale," he said.
‘Part of democracy’ : Senators respect ‘no’ vote on split of Palawan
Members of the Senate said that they respect the decision of the people of Palawan on the division of the province.
Data from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) as of Monday, March 15, showed that “no” votes are leading against the “yes” votes in the March 13 plebiscite on the law dividing Palawan into Palawan del Norte, Palawan del Sur, and Palawan Oriental. Senate President Vicente Sotto III brought up the development during their Monday plenary session.
“Apparently the people did not agree with Congress,” he said.
Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, former chairman of the Senate local government committee, admitted that the law, albeit Congress’ approval, was a “hotly-debated measure”.
“We must respect the sovereign will of the people, that’s my main point in asking for the floor. I think the drafters of our Constitution and their wisdom, recognized that these issues of division or seceding of a province or creation of a new province or a new district are such hotly-debated issues that they are submitted, aside from the votes of the delgates of the people, namely members of the Congress, there is a second vote taken. And that is that of the people themselves,” said Angara, who sponsored the law in the Senate.
“At the time, it did seem to make sense because of the, I think governability was the main issue, given that Palawan is four times the size of Cebu in terms of land area,” he recalled.
“But the bottomline is, again, the people have spoken and we must respect and honor that exercise of sovereign will of the people,” Angara reiterated.
Incumbent local government committee chairman Sen. Francis Tolentino surmised that the rejection might have been due to the lack of awareness about the law’s intent, as there were challenges in information dissemination due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“But then again we have to respect the decision of the people of Palawan rejecting the division of the province,” he said.
Senator Richard Gordon, meanwhile, advised his colleagues to “tarry a little” in approving bills on the creation of provinces and legislative districts.
He, too, admitted he was “surprised” with the turnout.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, however, said: “I don’t think we have to lose sleep over the fact that the people voted against the decision of Congress. This is how its works, this is how the system works. There are only very few instances when the direct participation of the people is called upon in the Constitution.”
“We exercise our best judgement, the people did not agree with us, that’s it. That’s how the system works. I would not really, as I said, lose sleep. This is part of the system, and we should continue with the system because it’s good for our democracy,” Drilon said.
Sotto agreed, telling his colleagues not to fret about the decision as he recalled his share of rejected proposals in previous Congresses.
“It really happens…That’s how it is,” he said.
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri also said: “Eventually it is the people who will decide…That’s the beauty of the plebiscite.” The hashtag “NoTo3in1Palawan” trended on Twitter on Saturday while Palawan residents vote on the ratification of the law splitting their province into three provinces.
https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/15/part-of-democracy-senators-respect-no-vote-on-split-of-palawan/