Tuesday, December 05, 2006 Dinagat isles land provincehood status By Ben Serrano Caraga Correspondent
SURIGAO CITY -- With a margin of only 6,914 votes coming from five towns in Dinagat Island bailiwick of the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA), the "Yes" vote for Dinagat Island prevailed over a poorly promoted "No" vote in the December 2 referendum.
The "Yes" vote officially garnered a total of 70,058 votes while "No" got only 63,144, Comelec said.
But only 44.7 percent of the total 297,959 registered voters in the entire Surigao del Norte including its component city of Surigao cast their votes in the December 2 plebiscite that will decide the fate of making Dinagat Island as the fifth province of Caraga Region.
The turnout of voters is considered to be the lowest so far in the history of political exercise in the province, which has a total of 27 towns and one component city, Comelec Provincial Election officer Joy Jonathan Senaca said.
"This is also our first time to hold a plebiscite like this. Generally it is the most peaceful and orderly so far," Senaca said.
Earlier, proponents of "No" vote to Dinagat Provincehood complained of alleged vote buying in the amount of P20 each, voters' disenfranchisement, alleged report of flying voters and alleged coercion to some voters to vote for a "Yes."
However, the "No" proponents have not officially filed their protests or complaints before the poll body.
No funds
In a live interview over local radio station dxRS, Jose Cabradilla, a "Yes" advocate from Libjo town in Dinagat Island reportedly running for mayor in the coming May 2007 elections thanked voters from mainland towns for the results.
"This is our dream long overdue. The people of Dinagat Island have finally spoken, they wanted to decide their own fate" Cabradilla said.
Of the seven towns in Dinagat Island, five overwhelmingly voted for "Yes." These are the towns of San Jose, the home of the PBMA, which has the highest turn of voters of about 91.9 percent of the total registered voters.
Other Dinagat Island towns, which has the most numbers of voters who get out from their homes and voted; are municipalities of Basilisa, 82 percent, Dinagat, 79.2 percent, Cagdianao, 65.6 percent, Libjo, 55 percent, Loreto, 57.3 percent, and Tubajon 59.2 percent.
It was in Loreto and Tubajon in Dinagat Island where "No" votes won but in a slight margin.
Dinagat Island's seven towns have a total registered voters of 62,298.
Another island where "No" votes won was in Siargao, but has the lowest number of voters with only 38 percent of the total registered voters of about 63,633.
Here in Surigao City, which has a total registered voters of 69,075, only 44 percent cast their votes. "No" to Dinagat Province votes prevailed over "Yes" in the city.
At the Surigao del Norte's mainland towns, which composed of 11 municipalities namely, Sison, Tubod, San Francisco, Mainit, Placer, Alegria, Bacuag, Gigaquit, Claver, Malimono and Tagana-an, the "No" votes prevailed but only few out of the total 102,957 registered voters with only 31,956 cast their vote.
Earlier, both the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) and the Roman Catholic Churches have denounced the creation of the Dinagat Island into province saying only politicians are benefited in Republic Act 9355 or the law creating Dinagat Province.
The "No" proponents admitted it has no funds and volunteers to actively campaign for a "No" votes -- the reason why it failed to elicit public support against the well oiled machinery for "yes."
Dinagat Island, which has seven municipalities, will be the fifth province of Caraga Region with San Jose town as the capital.
Dinagat Island, which is composed of 801.65 square kilometers, is abundant with mineral resources and is target of many mining investments. Firestones are also found abundantly in the island.
