Palawan plebiscite canvassers to resume session on Monday

The Provincial Plebiscite Board of Canvassers for the Palawan plebiscite adjourned again on Sunday afternoon, according to a report on Dobol B TV.

The PPBOC will resume its session at 9 a.m. on Monday.

A total of 490,369 voters registered for the Palawan plebiscite. The running total of those who voted was 244,029 or 49.76% as of 3:40 p.m., Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Rowena Guanzon said.

Partial unofficial results of the Palawan plebiscite stood at NO votes with 148,017 and YES votes at 96,012.

Guanzon said the canvassing was on recess due to the distance of municipalities, where the tallies are conducted, from Puerto Princesa, the seat of canvassing.

She also assured the people of Palawan that the Comelec was watching the tally and canvassing.

On Saturday, the one-day manual plebiscite was held in 2,959 clustered precincts in 487 voting centers in 23 municipalities in Palawan for the ratification of Republic Act 11259.

The said law, signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2019, will divide Palawan into three provinces: Palawan del Norte, Palawan del Sur, and Oriental Palawan.

The three provinces will be created if the majority of voters agree to it.

In a tweet on Sunday, Guanzon said that in northern Palawan "No" received 56,913 votes to 29,684 for "Yes," with 100 percent of the votes counted in five of the six municipalities. — DVM/BM, GMA News