Palawan says no

After three days of canvassing, the Provincial Plebiscite Board of Canvassers made it official last Tuesday: Palawan will remain one united province.

It was a stunning verdict, a vindication of the work of the passionate groups that had relentlessly campaigned since 2018 against the ratification of Republic Act No. 11259, which would have chopped up Palawan, touted as the country’s last ecological frontier for its rich biodiversity, into three smaller provinces, namely Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental, and Palawan del Sur.

Earlier, Palawan Governor Jose Alvarez, the main voice calling for the division of Palawan, had grudgingly conceded defeat when it became obvious that the nays had it — even in his hometown of San Vicente where his daughter is the mayor.

The Board of Canvassers did not even need to wait for the voting results from the smallest municipality of Kalayaan off the West Philippine Sea to conclude the voting exercise, as the available numbers were already a decisive victory for the No vote with 172,302 against 122,223 Yes votes.

Alvarez accepted the result, but tried to downplay it just the same as supposedly the Palaweños’ ultimate loss: “Hindi naman ang pamahalaang panlalawigan ang natalo. Ang natalo dito ang sambayanang Palaweño dahil ang batas na ito ay para sa kanila ngunit hindi tinanggap.”The measure to divide Palawan was introduced in March 2018 by Palawan Reps. Franz Josef George E.

Alvarez, Frederick F. Abueg, and Gil P. Acosta, ostensibly to “hasten the economic and social progress” of the 23 municipalities comprising the proposed provinces and “to bring the seats of government nearer, accessible and more responsive to the needs of the inhabitants of the new provinces.”

Congress then roused itself and acted with uncharacteristic speed to approve the measure despite concerns expressed even then that no consultations had been held and there was no clamor for what was clearly a gerrymandering exercise. The House of Representatives passed the measure in August 2018, the Senate concurred in November, and President Duterte signed the bill into law in April 2019. The law called for the holding of a plebiscite where Palawan residents could vote on whether they approved or rejected the move to split their province.

That the measure was ultimately spurned at the March 13 polls, and by a margin far bigger than expected, can be attributed to the dogged grassroots education advocacy campaign waged by the various nongovernment organizations, civil society groups, peoples’ organizations, and church-based groups that banded together to oppose the move. Spearheaded by the Save Palawan Movement, the campaign carried the message that partitioning Palawan would benefit neither the people nor the province but rather the entrenched Palawan politicians who had lobbied hard in Congress for the law’s passage.

“For many Palaweños, having three provinces would mean more politicians, more opportunities for corruption, and more bloated bureaucracies,” declared the Save Palawan Movement. “The same people who failed to alleviate poverty in various areas in Palawan will dominate these new provinces, perpetuating their weak style of governance, as well as the same social and environmental issues that have made lives difficult for the Palaweños, especially the poor and marginalized.”

Dividing Palawan, the groups warned, meant it would be easier to corrupt now smaller constituencies into approving logging, mining, and other interests that would damage the province’s fragile ecosystem and unique biodiversity. Sen. Risa Hontiveros, the lone senator to vote against the measure, also expressed concern at the “deep geopolitical repercussions” of the move, since Palawan is at the forefront of the West Philippine Sea issue between the Philippines and China.

Division proponents argued that partitioning Palawan into more manageable sizes would mean improved local governance and delivery of public services. Sen. Juan Edgardo M. Angara, chair of the Senate committee on local government who sponsored the bill in the Senate, said it was designed to “spark growth” in the country’s largest province. Palawan, he pointed out, “can fit” five Batangas provinces, and was too big to be governed as one.

In the end, that argument didn’t fly with Palaweños, despite the formidable administration-backed political machinery deployed by the partition camp. “The big lesson for the politicians who attempted to divide Palawan into three is to make sure that the desire actually came from the people,” reminded One Palawan prime mover Cynthia Sumagaysay-del Rosario. “The desire of a few cannot win over the desire of the majority.”

One other vital lesson from the plebiscite: Elections can be held even during the pandemic. The successful plebiscite is a repudiation of those insidiously pushing for the postponement of the May 2022 polls.