Philippine president signs law splitting Palawan into 3 provinces

The new law, signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on April 5 but was only made public on Saturday, April 13, splits Palawan into provinces of Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental, and Palawan del Sur. (File Photo by Marco Verch/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)

The country’s Chief Executive has inked his signature on a new law dividing Palawan into three provinces.

Signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on April 5 but was only made public on Saturday, April 13, Republic Act (RA) No. 11259 splits Palawan into provinces of Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental, and Palawan del Sur.

The province of Palawan del Norte will be composed of the following municipalities: Coron, Culion, Busuanga, Linapacan, Taytay, and El Nido.

Palawan Oriental, meanwhile, will have Roxas, Araceli, Dumaran, Cuyo, Agutaya, Magsaysay, Cayancillo, and San Vicente.

The province of Palawan del Sur, considered as the “mother province,” will be compromised of the municipalities of Aborlan, Narra, Quezon, Rizal, Española, Brooke’s Point, Bataraza, Balabac, and Kalayaan.

The creation of these new provinces will depend on the result of a plebiscite in affected areas which will be supervised by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on the second Monday of May 2020.

If the majority of the voters approve this, the election of new provincial officials will happen on the second Monday of May 2022 during national and local polls.

Every province will have a provincial governor, vice governor, Sangguniang Panlalawigan secretary and members, provincial treasurer assessor, accountant, budget officer, planning and development coordinator, engineer, health officer, administrator, legal officer, agriculturist, social welfare and development officer, veterinarian, and general services officer.

Under the law, residents of Puerto Princesa – a highly-urbanized city – are not qualified to vote in the plebiscite and for candidates for provincial elective positions.

It added that incumbent representatives of the present Palawan province shall serve their respective districts until the new representatives are elected.

The law will take effect 15 days upon its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general and local circulation.

The Senate passed the measure, sponsored by Senator Sonny Angara, in November 2018 with 14 affirmative votes, one negative vote from Senator Risa Hontiveros, and zero abstention.

Hontiveros voted against the bill, stressing that a divided Palawan may “strengthen” China’s position in the West Philippine Sea.

“Instead of having to face a single, strong provincial government which can mobilize the entire island in its own defense, China will now have the opportunity to infiltrate and influence smaller local government units,” she said.