Comelec to hold one-day Palawan division plebiscite in March

The plebiscite for the division of Palawan into three provinces will be held on a single day in March but with reduced precinct sizes to prevent the transmission of COVID-19, Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesperson James Jimenez said Wednesday.

During a Senate hearing led by the Committee on Electoral Reforms and People’s Participation, Senator Imee Marcos asked if the plebiscite will be held in a two- to three-day period.

"Hindi po. 'Yung mismong election day starts at 7 in the morning and we will hold elections until 3 in the afternoon," Jimenez said in response to the senator.

"Ang adjustment natin sa Palawan, specifically, to increase the number of polling places and correspondingly lower the number of voters per polling place," he added.

Comelec has already expanded its timetable for the preparations and will start deploying personnel to Palawan as early as mid-February to adhere to some health and safety protocols.

"Middle of February a lot of our resources and personnel will be already on site kasi kailangan natin i-accomodate 'yung 14-day quarantine requirements," Jimenez said.

Personal protective equipment will also be included in the procurements of the poll body for this activity, according to the Comelec official.

"Itong buong proseso ng Palawan plebiscite was also planned out in coordination with the Department of Health and IATF," Jimenez said.

A previous resolution of the IATF in October has set a two-day voting schedule for this plebiscite.

President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act 11259 last April, dividing Palawan into three provinces: Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental, and Palawan del Sur.

The three provinces will be created upon approval by the majority of the votes cast by the voters of the affected areas in a plebiscite to be conducted and supervised by the Comelec.

Based on data from the Department of Health, there are 473 COVID-19 cases in Palawan as of January 19, of which 455 recovered and three died. Fifteen remain to be active cases. —KG, GMA News