THE people have so much power that they can approve or reject a law or make changes in the Constitution or government of the country.
The public fuss a lot about the 2022 election. The people will again exercise their right to suffrage and vote for the next president of the Philippines. However, only a few are aware that just recently, a part of our country already exercised their right to vote.
Republic Act (RA) No. 11259 is a law signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on April 5, 2019. The law provides for the division of the province of Palawan into three separate provinces. These provinces will be Palawan del Norte, Palawan del Sur and Palawan Oriental.
The law will only take effect when a plebiscite is held and that the voters will vote in favor of the law. And, yes, a plebiscite was conducted on March 13, 2021. As a result, Palawan remains as one province.
For the sake of discussion, let me share with you some of the key points of the said law if the results were the other way around.
Under the law, there will be three separate provinces. Palawan del Norte includes Busuanga, Coron, Culion, El Nido, and Linapacan, with Taytay as its capital.
Palawan del Sur includes Aborlan, Balabac, Bataraza, Sofronio Española, Kalayaan, Narra, Quezon, and Rizal, with Brooke’s Point as its capital.
Palawan Oriental includes Agutaya, Araceli, Cagayancillo, Cuyo, Dumaran, Magsaysay, and San Vicente, with Roxas as its capital.
Puerto Princesa will continue as an independent and highly urbanized city. This means that it is not under the jurisdiction of the Palawan provincial government. Consequently, the residents of the city will not (or did not) participate in the plebiscite.
Accordingly, the proponents of the law reasoned that the division of Palawan will lead to more tourism opportunities and speed up the delivery of basic social services to the people. Having these three provincial governments each will have its own budget, set of leaders, and a government which is more accessible to the municipalities.
Though all of these are for the betterment of the province, the Congress as well as all who have interest thereon should respect and honor the choice of the Palaweños. The result of the plebiscite is a clear manifestation of the will of the people./PN
