It’s final: Palawan remains one

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan, Philippines — Palawan will remain a single province after the provincial board of canvassers (PBOC) on Tuesday certified the results of the March 13 plebiscite, showing that the majority of its voters rejected the law that divides the island into three new provinces.

The final and official results of the plebiscite from 22 of 23 towns showed that 172,304 voted “No” to Palawan’s three-way split, while 122,223 voted “Yes” to the division that would have created the smaller provinces of Palawan del Norte, Palawan del Sur and Palawan Oriental as contained in Republic Act No. 11259.

The PBOC declared that the “No” votes won after one of its members, lawyer Edwin Gastanes, moved to certify the results despite the votes from Kalayaan town not being part of the tally.

Gastanes said results from the island municipality in the West Philippine Sea, which were expected to reach this city on Wednesday, would not affect the turnout of the plebiscite, considering the margin of more than 50,000 votes.

Kalayaan has only 281 registered voters and only 63 participated in the plebiscite. Initial results from Kalayaan showed that 41 rejected the split while 20 endorsed it. Two votes were invalid.

Lawyer Christian Jay Cojamco, lead counsel of Partidong Pagbabago ng Palawan that is backing the split, joined the manifestation for proclamation based on verified election results. Lawyer Urbano Arlando, provincial election supervisor and PBOC chair, approved the motion.

Lessons learned

Expecting a “close fight” but met with an “overwhelming” win, lawyer Grizelda Mayo Anda, one of the counsels for One Palawan Movement, said the plebiscite was an “eye-opener” not just for Palawan voters, but for the 2022 national and local elections.

“It was an overwhelming victory for ‘No.’ This proves that people understand that the solution to their problems rests not on three provincial capitols. The campaign and the election have taken on a mass character. Even the proponents of the split can learn lessons here. The people showed that their voices could be heard once they put their minds to it,” she said.

Palawan Gov. Jose Alvarez and other provincial officials backing the division conceded on Monday.

Alvarez said the split would have hastened the delivery of government services to isolated and poor towns in the province.“The provincial government did not lose. Palawan residents are the real losers here because this law was for them, but they rejected it,” he said.