Pro-Palawan split campaigners concede loss

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY—Two lead campaigners of the three-way Palawan split personally conceded loss based on the partial unofficial trend showing the “No” votes against Republic Act 11259 dominating the count on Sunday.

Provincial board member Ryan Maminta on Sunday, a day after the referendum, said he “accepts, respects, and honors the decision of the majority,” citing the plebiscite as a “healthy exercise of democracy.”

Maminta, who was among the staunch proponents of the split, called for “unity” among the Palawan residents whom he said had been politically divided because of the referendum.

“Nagdesisyon na ang mamamayang Palaweño at nanaig ang katwiran ng hindi pagpayag sa pagkakaroon ng tatlong (3) lalawigan sa Isla ng Palawan,” Maminta said.

(The Palaweños have decided and the movement to not divide the province into three has won.)

As of 12 noon, partial unofficial result of Palawan plebiscite stood at NO votes with 113,687, and YES votes at 76,785.

Early Sunday, Brooke’s Point town mayor Jean Feliciano, also one of the backers of the Palawan three-way split, personally conceded to a “No” vote in the plebiscite in her municipality, acknowledging a loss of “only about 200 votes.”

On Saturday, the Palawan plebiscite was conducted to let the locals decide whether or not to split the island province under RA 11259 into three smaller provinces, namely Palawan Del Sur, Palawan Del Norte, and Palawan Oriental.