"No"votes lead in Quezon split plebiscite

LUCENA CITY, Quezon, Philippines—Only one out of three voters in Quezon came on Saturday to vote in a historic plebiscite that was to divide the province into two, according to the local head of the Commission on Elections.

“Based on initial reports, only about 30 to 35 percent of the total number of voters in Quezon participated,” said Comelec Quezon chief Allan Enriquez.

“With the active campaigns by both ’yes’ and ’no’ advocates led by the Church and political figures, the turnout of voters was quite low,” he said.

Quezon has about 900,000 voters, he said.

Initial results showed that the people did not want the province divided. “It’s 70-30 in favor of ’no’ votes,” Enriquez said in a phone interview.

With a standing order from the Supreme Court preventing the Comelec from officially proclaiming the winner in the plebiscite, Enriquez said the agency would count all the votes from the different municipalities but would not sign the certificate of canvass and the proclamation of winner in the provincial canvass.

“We have to abide by the court order,” he said.

Lucena Bishop Emilio Marquez, an ardent “yes” campaigner, urged the people to respect the results.

Republic Act No. 9495 paved the way for voting on the division of Quezon into two separate political units in the plebiscite.

Gov. Rafael Nantes, a former representative of the province’s first district, was the main author of the measure which he pushed during his three terms in Congress along with Rep. Proceso Alcala, Rep. Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada III (4th district) and Rep. Danilo Suarez (3rd district) as co-authors until it was passed last year.

In a last-minute decision, Alcala abandoned his neutral stand and joined Nantes in opposing the law.

Rep. Mark Enverga, son of former Gov. Wilfrido Enverga, also supported the rejectionist movement.

Saturday’s political exercise was reportedly marred by massive vote-buying, particularly in the town of Candelaria and Lucena City.

“With the limited resources of our office and capability of the police, the enforcement of laws against vote-buying is really hard,” Enriquez said.

Police reported the arrest of four people in Padre Burgos town for distributing “black propaganda” materials against the Suarez clan on the eve of the plebiscite.

Enriquez said the suspects would face charges of violation of the Omnibus Election Code.

Lawyer Frumencio Pulgar of the Save Quezon Province Movement, one of the anti-Quezon split groups that asked the high tribunal to stop the plebiscite on grounds of constitutional infirmities of some provisions of RA 9495, said he would withdraw the petition on Tuesday.

“That’s to remove the legal obstacles in the proclamation of the winner,” he said in a phone interview.

Pulgar denied reports of vote-buying or irregularities. In fact, the Comelec had not received any formal complaint as of Sunday, he added.

He called on all “yes” advocates to forget the intense rivalry during the campaign and work together for the development of the province.

“The plebiscite was not a political contest. Let us again join together to chart the progress and development of one Quezon,” he said.

Tañada and Suarez both called on their supporters to respect the result of the plebiscite. They, however, held it ironic that their intention to fight poverty through RA 9495 was defeated by the poverty of most of the voters who sold their constitutional right for a measly sum of P100.

“We want to eradicate poverty but it was also poverty that killed the law,” said Tañada over the phone.

“It’s now the call of the present provincial government to deliver the progress and development that it promised to the voters. The people’s expectation is high,” he said.