It’s now Davao de Oro!
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) declared late Sunday evening the renaming of Compostela Valley into Davao de Oro.
The Comelec said 174,442 residents voted “yes” as only 5,020 rejected the name change.
A total of 179,958 out of 410,261 or 43.86 percent registered voters participated in the plebiscite last Saturday.
Gov. Jayvee Tyron Uy, in a statement yesterday, said the “yes” votes affirmed all the efforts poured by the various sectors advocating for the renaming of the province.
“We have nothing but gratitude to all who helped us in the campaign. To all local government officials, employees of the provincial government and everyone who helped us get the message of this renaming across, to the security sector, teachers and election officers who worked hard to give us a seamless plebiscite and most especially, to the people of Davao de Oro to whom this change is inspired, we thank them for going out last Saturday and casting their vote — no matter what that vote is,” Uy said.
The governor noted that for the last 20 years of being named Compostela Valley, the residents endured “lessons of resilience, convergence, cooperation and collective responsibility.”
“The making of history does not end here. This is only the beginning. We will work on making Davao de Oro true to its name, a province where people come, people live, and people prosper,” he said.
In his previous interview, Uy said the renaming would cement its identity of the province as part of the “Davao family” since its breakup from Davao del Norte in 1998.
The renaming, Uy said, would pave the way for the creation of more economic zones in the province. He also pointed out that the province is rich in natural resources and has a stable economic status.
Representatives Maria Carmen “Maricar” Zamora, Ruwel Peter Gonzaga and Pedro Acharon Jr. filed House Bill 7363 on May 15, 2018 that seeks to rename the province as Davao de Oro.
Senators Juan Miguel Zubiri and Sonny Angara filed Senate Bill 1746 on Dec. 10, 2018.
The bills were consolidated on Jan. 29 and RA 11297 (An Act Renaming the Province of Compostela Valley as the Province of Davao de Oro) was then signed into law on April 17 and made public on May 22 this year.
The Davao Police Regional Office (PRO) Director, Brig. Gen. Filmore Escobal said the plebiscite was “generally peaceful with no untoward incidents.”
“Through our close coordination with the Comelec, local government units, Armed Forces of the Philippines, we were able to ensure the peaceful exercise of the citizen’s right to vote in the province,” Escobal said.
Under Memorandum Order 42, President Rodrigo Duterte concurred with the Comelec to deputize the PNP and the AFP in the plebiscite.
Escobal visited the province on plebiscite day to personally check the troops at the polling centers and other vital installations to thwart hostile actions from the enemy groups.
He said a total of 559 police personnel were deployed to 286 polling centers to secure the safety of the voters who exercised their right to vote. (with PNA)
