2019 Compostela Valley renaming plebiscite explained

2019 Compostela Valley renaming plebiscite
Do you agree to change the name of the province of Compostela Valley to the province of Davao de Oro pursuant to Republic Act number 11297?

Filipino; Pilipino: Pumapayag ka ba na palitan ang pangalan ng lalawigan ng Compostela Valley at gawing lalawigan ng Davao de Oro alinsunod sa Batas Republika bilang 11297?
Location:Compostela Valley, Philippines
Country:Compostela Valley
Date:December 7, 2019
Yes:174442
No:5020
Total:179953
Electorate:410262
Outcome:Compostela Valley renamed into "Davao de Oro"
Map:Compostela Valley Renaming Plebiscite Map.svg
Mapdivision:municipality and legislative district
Legend Yes:
  1. 0069b5
Legend No:
  1. ffc010

On December 7, 2019, a plebiscite was held to determine if residents of the Philippine province of Compostela Valley approve the renaming of their province to Davao de Oro.

Background

The province of Compostela Valley was carved out from Davao del Norte in 1998.[1] In early 2019, Republic Act No. 11297 was passed into law renaming Compostela Valley to Davao de Oro, subject to the province's residents' approval in a plebiscite.[2] The legislation was signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte on April 17, 2019 and the signing was made known to the public on May 23, 2019. The Philippine national government's Commission on Elections (Comelec) was tasked to supervise and conduct the required plebiscite.[3]

Republic Act No. 11297 was proposed as House Bill 7363, which was filed before the House of Representatives on May 15, 2018, and Senate Bill 1746, which was filed before the Senate on December 10, 2018. Representatives Pedro Acharon Jr., Ruwel Peter Gonzaga, and Maria Carmen Zamora were the proponents of HB 7363 and Senators Migz Zubiri and Sonny Angara were the proponents of the Senate counterpart of the House bill. The two proposed bills were consolidated on January 29, 2019. Supporters of the renaming said that renaming Compostella Valley to Davao de Oro would strengthen the association of the province with the rest of the Davao Region; prior to the plebiscite, Davao de Oro as Compostela Valley was the only province in the region without "Davao" in its name.[4]

As per Resolution No. 10614 of Comelec, all voters in the 11 municipalities of Compostela Valley who voted in the 2019 Philippine general election were eligible to participate.[2]

Preparations

Campaign

Since March 2019, the provincial government of Compostela Valley led by governor Jayvee Tyron Uy started the campaign to convince voters to approve the renaming of their province. Jayvee Uy's campaign was helped by Arturo Uy, his father and a former governor of his province.[1] The proposed name of "Davao de Oro" was formally launched on March 8, 2019 during the Bulawan Festival.[4]

Organization

Polling for the plebiscite was scheduled to run from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on December 7, 2019.[2] was allocated for the conduct of the plebiscite.[5] President Rodrigo Duterte also directed the police and the military to ensure the security of the province during the plebiscite.[6] A province-wide gun ban was imposed in Compostela Valley from November 7 to December 7, 2019 and at least one police checkpoint was set up in each of the province's 11 municipalities.[7]

Question

The question used in the ballot was in Filipino and voters were asked to vote either "yes" or "no". The question was:[1]

"Pumapayag ka ba na palitan ang pangalan ng lalawigan ng Compostela Valley at gawing lalawigan ng Davao de Oro
alinsunod sa Batas Republika bilang 11297?"


Voters wrote "yes" or "no" or its equivalent in Filipino.[2]

Results

The results of the plebiscite was counted manually and was submitted to the Provincial Plebiscite Board of Canvassers.[8]

The turnout of the plebiscite as per the Comelec was around 45 percent which translates to 178,953 participants out of the 410,262 eligible votes. Majority of the voters favored the renaming with 174,442 voting "yes" and 5,020 voted "no". Canvassing was slowed due to inconsistencies regarding the number of votes in four municipalities. The results of the plebiscite was approved by the Comelec at 10:24 p.m. on December 8, 2019.[9] [10]

By municipality

The measure was accepted in all municipalities by overwhelming margins. The municipality of Compostela had the largest proportion of "no" votes.

MunicipalityYesNoValid votesInvalid votesTurnoutRegistered
voters
Total%Total%Total%Total%Total%
Compostela21,78794.261,3265.7423,11399.66800.3423,19345.7450,705
Maragusan16,36498.871871.1316,55199.81310.1316,58247.5334,887
Monkayo17,49996.426503.5818,14999.57790.4318,22836.8249,511
Montevista12,36797.932612.0712,6281000012,62849.7325,394
New Bataan13,43496.564783.4413,91299.51680.4913,98049.3928,305
Laak21,37098.373551.6321,72599.62820.3821,80750.0343,590
Mabini9,27097.91992.19,46999.28690.729,53840.9323,306
Maco18,46498.173451.8318,8091000018,80941.7545,051
Mawab10,13798.51541.510,29199.76250.2410,31645.4822,682
Nabunturan18,20996.576463.4318,85599.7570.318,91245.9141,194
Pantukan15,54197.374192.6315,9601000015,96034.9745,636
Compostela Valley174,44297.25,0202.8179,46299.734910.27179,95343.86410,261

By legislative district

Likewise, the measure was accepted in both legislative districts.[11]

DistrictYesNoValid votesInvalid votesTurnoutRegistered
voters
Total%Total%Total%Total%Total%
1st district81,45196.562,9023.4484,35399.72580.384,61144.81188,802
2nd district92,99197.772,1182.6395,10999.762330.2495,34243.05221,459
Compostela Valley174,44297.25,0202.8179,46299.734910.27179,95343.86410,261

Notes and References

  1. News: Tocmo . Hernel . Plebiscite held to rename Compostela Valley to Davao de Oro . December 9, 2019 . ABS-CBN News. December 7, 2019.
  2. News: Compostela Valley or Davao de Oro? Plebiscite set . December 9, 2019 . SunStar. December 6, 2019.
  3. News: Ranada . Pia . Compostela Valley renamed 'Davao de Oro' in new law . December 9, 2019 . Rappler. May 23, 2019.
  4. News: Davao de Oro, a dream closer . December 9, 2019 . Sun Star Davao . May 22, 2019.
  5. News: Philippine News Agency. Palicte . Che . Renaming ComVal to Davao de Oro will spur dev't: guv . December 9, 2019 . Philippine National Agency . September 22, 2019.
  6. News: Philippine News Agency. Caliwan . Christopher Lloyd . PNP all set to secure Davao de Oro plebiscite . December 9, 2019 . Philippine National Agency . December 4, 2019.
  7. News: Cayon . Manuel . Comval prepares for new name in December plebiscite as province bags awards on nutrition, pop control . December 9, 2019 . BusinessMirror. November 14, 2019.
  8. News: Regelado . Edith . Residents vote for renaming of Compostela valley to Davao de Oro . December 9, 2019 . The Philippine Star. December 9, 2019.
  9. Web site: Tomacruz . Sofia . 2019-12-09 . Compostela Valley votes to rename itself Davao de Oro . 2024-03-20 . RAPPLER . en-US.
  10. News: Balasbas . Rhommel . Compostella (sic) Valley tatawagin nang Davao de Oro . Compostela Valley now to be called Davao de Oro. December 9, 2019 . Radyo Inquirer 990 AM . December 9, 2019 . Filipino.
  11. Web site: Results of the Plebiscite to ratify the renaming of the Province of Compostela Valley as the Province of Davao de Oro. 2021-05-29. www.region11.dilg.gov.ph.