MANILA, Philippines — Palawan will remain as one province, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Tuesday.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said the Provincial Plebiscite Board of Canvassers (BOC) proclaimed at past 5 p.m. that the “no” vote won in the plebiscite held over the weekend to ask residents if they agree to ratify Republic Act 11259 that proposed the division of the province into three.

“The BOC just proclaimed the rejection of the proposed division of the Province of Palawan,” Jimenez said.

The BOC just proclaimed the rejection of the proposed division of the Province of Palawan. With a 60% voter turnout, the people of Palawan have spoken loud and clear.

The COMELEC thanks all its partners in conducting the massively successful #PalawanPleb.

— James Jimenez (@jabjimenez) March 16, 2021

Jimenez said the BOC canvassed a total of 122,223 ‘yes’ votes and 172,304 ‘no’ votes with only one municipality unaccounted for.

The poll body said 22 out of 23 municipalities have been canvassed with a voter turnout of 60 percent.

“With a 60% voter turnout, the people of Palawan have spoken loud and clear. The COMELEC thanks all its partners in conducting the massively successful #PalawanPleb,” Jimenez said.

#PalawanPleb
Municipality of Agutaya — YES: 795; NO: 3,202
Municipality of Cuyo — YES: 1,733; NO: 6,297
Muncipality of Magsaysay — YES: 1,174; NO: 3,470 pic.twitter.com/FEJA3QswY9

— James Jimenez (@jabjimenez) March 16, 2021

The plebiscite was held as required under Republic Act 11259 signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2019 for the proposed creation of the provinces of Palawan del Norte, Palawan del Sur, and Palawan Oriental.

MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) on Thursday warned the public against collecting and eating shellfish gathered from 10 coastal areas in the country due to red tide toxins.

In its Shellfish Bulletin No. 6 dated March 10, BFAR said its latest laboratory tests on shellfishes collected from several coastal waters in various parts of the Visayas and Mindanao indicated positive results for paralytic shellfish poison that is beyond the regulatory limit.

These coastal areas include:

• Coastal Waters of Inner Malampaya Sound, Taytay in Palawan
• Sorsogon Bay in Sorsogon
• Coastal Waters of Dauis and Tagbilaran City in Bohol
• Tambobo Bay, Siaton in Negros Oriental
• Coastal Waters of Calubian, and Cancato Bay, Tacloban City in Leyte
• Dumanquillas Bay in Zamboanga del Sur
• Murcielagos Bay (Sapang Dalaga and Baliangao) and Coastal Waters of Ozamiz City in Misamis Occidental
• Taguines Lagoon, Benoni, Mahinog in Camiguin
• Balite Bay, Mati City in Davao Oriental
• Lianga Bay and Coastal waters of Hinatuan in Surigao del Sur

BFAR said that all types of shellfish and Acetes sp. or alamang gathered from the areas mentioned are not safe for human consumption.

On the other hand, fish, squids, shrimps, and crabs are safe for human consumption, provided that they are fresh and washed thoroughly, and internal organs such as gills and intestines are removed before cooking, it added.

MANILA, Philippines — Puerto Princesa City has reopened its attractions to domestic tourists. However, RT-PCR test will still be required before they can visit the city.

Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said Puerto Princesa reopened on March 1 and tourists who wish to visit the city will have to take the RT-PCR test before travel with 48 hours validity.

“The negative test result should be e-mailed directly by the Department of Health (DOH)-accredited testing facility to the City’s Incident Management Team (IMT),” the DOT said.

To attract more tourists, the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) has approved the easing of travel requirements.

Puyat said quarantine will no longer be required, but visitors must still have a confirmed booking from a DOT-accredited accommodation establishment and travel agency for guided tours.

For contact tracing, Puerto Princesa will use the StaySafe.ph system.

“Wala na ang quarantine except siyempre kung may sintomas, (There is no need for quarantine unless the individual is exhibiting symptoms),” Puyat said.

Puerto Princesa City Vice Mayor Nancy Socrates reiterated that COVID-19 testing will still be needed if the tourists are staying for several days.

“Mayroon pa rin po tayong antigen testing na nire-require every third day and seventh day ng stay nila dito and bukod po sa iyong in place na po ang ating protocols (We still have antigen testing which we require every third and seventh day of their stay. This is apart from the protocols in place. This is additional monitoring and tracking of our guests),” she said.

Puyat assured that tourism frontliners are included in the priority list for COVID-19 vaccines. AAC (with reports from Asher Cadapan Jr.)