MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday announced the suspension of voter registration for 2022 national and local elections in 23 municipalities in Palawan due to the expected plebiscite that would decide on dividing the province into three.
“Hindi tayo magbubukas ng registration [Voter registration is closed] dun sa 23 municipalities in Palawan because there is going to be a plebiscite in Palawan. Tatamaan yung [It will affect the] registration period,” Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez said in a press conference at the Comelec Session Hall in Manila.
To recall, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11259 which splits Palawan into Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental, and Palawan del Sur.
The plebiscite will be conducted on May 11 which will determine whether the majority of the voters in affected areas would approve the new provinces.
The municipalities affected in the plebiscite are Coron, Culion, Busuanga, Linapacan, Taytay, El Nido, Roxas, Araceli, Dumaran, Cuyo, Agutaya, Magsaysay, Cagayancillo, San Vicente, Aborlan, Narra, Quezon, Rizal, Española, Brooke’s Point, Bataraza, Balabac, and Kalayaan.
Meanwhile, the Comelec spokesman said voter registration will still resume in Puerto Princesa. The highly urbanized city will not be part of the new Palawan province but will become a separate political entity with its own congressional representative.
Comelec also announced the suspension of voter registration in areas affected by Taal Volcano eruption, which displaced thousands of villagers in Batangas. Voter registration in Makilala, Cotabato was also halted
Voter registration in other areas in the country will resume on Jan. 20 (Monday).