MANILA -- Registered voters from the 11 municipalities of Compostela Valley are set to decide on Saturday (December 7) whether they will approve or not the changing of the name of their province to Davao de Oro.
This as the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will hold the plebiscite that will ratify the renaming of the province as provided by Republic Act No. 11297.
"All qualified and duly registered voters of the Province of Compostela Valley, as of the May 13, 2019 National and Local Elections, are eligible to vote in the plebiscite," according to Comelec Resolution No. 10614.
In the official ballot, voters will be asked the question: "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?" (Are you in favor of replacing the name of the province Compostela Valley with the name Davao de Oro pursuant to Republic Act 11297?).
"The voter who will vote for its approval shall write the word 'YES' or 'OO' or its conceptual equivalent in the blank box after the question, or the voter will vote for its rejection, the word 'NO' or 'HINDI' or its conceptual equivalent shall be written in the blank line after the question," added the resolution promulgated on October 24.
Poll body records show there were 462,942 registered voters in Compostela Valley during the May 2019 national and local polls.
The voting period shall be from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
After the end of the voting process, the Plebiscite Committee shall publicly count in the polling precincts the votes cast and ascertain the results.
RA 11297 was passed into law in April which allowed the renaming of the Compostela Valley province.
The law ordered the Commission to conduct a plebiscite among voters in the present Compostela Valley province. (PNA)
