2019 Compostela Valley renaming plebiscite
December 7, 2019
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: 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?
OutcomeCompostela Valley renamed into "Davao de Oro"
Results
Choice
 Votes %
Yes 174,442 97.20%
No 5,020 2.80%
Valid votes 179,462 99.73%
Invalid or blank votes 491 0.27%
Total votes 179,953 100.00%
Registered voters/turnout 410,262 43.86%
Results by municipality and legislative district

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 Juan Miguel 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] ₱54 million 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?"
transl. 
Do you approve of the change of the name of the
Province of Compostela Valley to Province of Davao de Oro
by virtue of Republic Act No. 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]

Are you in favor of renaming Compostela Valley into "Davao de Oro"?
Choice Votes %
Referendum passed Yes 174,442 97.20
No 5,020 2.80
Required majority 50.00
Valid votes 179,462 99.73
Invalid or blank votes 491 0.27
Total votes 179,953 100.00
Registered voters/turnout 410,261 43.86
Source: Manila Bulletin

By municipality

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

Municipality Yes No Valid votes Invalid votes Turnout Registered
voters
Total % Total % Total % Total % Total %
Compostela 21,787 94.26 1,326 5.74 23,113 99.66 80 0.34 23,193 45.74 50,705
Maragusan 16,364 98.87 187 1.13 16,551 99.81 31 0.13 16,582 47.53 34,887
Monkayo 17,499 96.42 650 3.58 18,149 99.57 79 0.43 18,228 36.82 49,511
Montevista 12,367 97.93 261 2.07 12,628 100 0 0 12,628 49.73 25,394
New Bataan 13,434 96.56 478 3.44 13,912 99.51 68 0.49 13,980 49.39 28,305
Laak 21,370 98.37 355 1.63 21,725 99.62 82 0.38 21,807 50.03 43,590
Mabini 9,270 97.9 199 2.1 9,469 99.28 69 0.72 9,538 40.93 23,306
Maco 18,464 98.17 345 1.83 18,809 100 0 0 18,809 41.75 45,051
Mawab 10,137 98.5 154 1.5 10,291 99.76 25 0.24 10,316 45.48 22,682
Nabunturan 18,209 96.57 646 3.43 18,855 99.7 57 0.3 18,912 45.91 41,194
Pantukan 15,541 97.37 419 2.63 15,960 100 0 0 15,960 34.97 45,636
Compostela Valley 174,442 97.2 5,020 2.8 179,462 99.73 491 0.27 179,953 43.86 410,261

By legislative district

Likewise, the measure was accepted in both legislative districts.[10]

District Yes No Valid votes Invalid votes Turnout Registered
voters
Total % Total % Total % Total % Total %
1st district 81,451 96.56 2,902 3.44 84,353 99.7 258 0.3 84,611 44.81 188,802
2nd district 92,991 97.77 2,118 2.63 95,109 99.76 233 0.24 95,342 43.05 221,459
Compostela Valley 174,442 97.2 5,020 2.8 179,462 99.73 491 0.27 179,953 43.86 410,261

References

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