The campaign period for the March 13, 2021 Palawan Plebiscite has officially started.
In Resolution No.10687, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) set the Information and Campaign Period from Feb. 11 to March 11,2021.
Prohibited acts during the Information and Campaign Period are the removing, destroying, or tampering of lawful plebiscite propaganda; appointment or hiring of new employees, creation of new positions filling of new positions, or giving of salary increases, remuneration, or privileges; construction of public works, delivery of materials for public works, and issuance of treasury warrants or similar devices; release, disbursement, or expenditures of public funds; raising of funds, thru dances, lotteries, cockfights, etc.; and use of armored/land water/aircraft.
The Plebiscite Period,on the other hand, shall run from Feb. 11 to March 20, 2021.
Prohibited during this period are the alteration of territory of a precinct or establishment of a new precinct; bearing, carrying, or transporting firearms or other deadly weapons in public places, unless authorized in writing by the Commission; transfer or detail of officers and employees in the civil service; organization or maintenance of reaction forces, strike forces or similar forces; suspension of local elective officials; and illegal release of prisoners.
The poll body originally scheduled the conduct of the plebiscite to ratify the division of the province of Palawan into Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental, and Palawan del Sur on May 11, 2020 in accordance to Republic Act No. 11259 which provides that the plebiscite should be held on the second Monday of May 2020.
In April 2020, the Comelec suspended the May 11 plebiscite due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the Enhanced Community Quarantine in Luzon.
On October 8, 2020, the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) approved the proposal to already hold the plebiscite in Palawan.
The poll body then set the plebiscite on March 13, 2021.