President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law a measure dividing Palawan into three new provinces, namely: Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental, and Palawan del Sur.
Duterte signed Republic Act 11259 dividing Palawan into three distinct provinces, with Palawan del Sur as the mother province.
Under the law, the province of Palawan del Norte will be composed of the municipalities of Coron, Culion, Busuanga, Linacapan, Taytay and El Nido.
The province of Palawan Oriental, in turn, will be comprised of the municipalities of Roxas, Araceli, Dumaran, Cuyo, Agutaya, Magsaysay, Cayancillo, and San Vicente.
Palawan del Sur as the “mother province” will be composed of the municipalities of Aborlan, Narra, Quezon, Rizal, Espanola, Brooke’s Point, Bataraza, Balacbac, and Kalayaan.
The three provinces will be created depending on the results of a plebiscite in the affected areas.
The plebiscite will be held on the second Monday of May 2020.
The election of new elective officials will be held on the second Monday of May 2022 during the national and local elections.
The incumbent representatives of the present province of Palawan shall continue to represent their respective legislative districts until the new ones are elected.
The first set of elective officials of the newly created provinces will be chosen in the May 2022 national and local polls.