Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 11259)
The Act is titled the "Charter of the Province of Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental, and Palawan del Sur".
The Province of Palawan is divided into three (3) provinces: Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental, and Palawan del Sur.
Palawan del Sur is designated as the mother province.
Palawan del Norte is composed of Coron, Culion, Busuanga, Linapacan, Taytay, and El Nido.
The capital towns are Taytay for Palawan del Norte, Roxas for Palawan Oriental, and Brooke's Point for Palawan del Sur.
Each province has the powers to exercise continuous succession, sue and be sued, use a corporate seal, acquire and convey real or personal property, enter into contracts, and exercise other powers granted to corporations under the Local Government Code of 1991 and other laws.
The provinces have a combined share of not less than forty percent (40%) of the gross collections derived by the national government from mining taxes, royalties, forestry, fishery charges, and other related taxes within their jurisdiction. This share is divided equally among the three provinces and further shared among provinces (60%), municipalities (24%), and barangays (16%).
They commence upon the election and qualification of their provincial governor, vice governor, and majority of the sangguniang panlalawigan, with elections scheduled on the second Monday of May 2022.
The sangguniang panlalawigan is headed by the provincial vice governor as the presiding officer and is composed of regular members, the presidents of the provincial chapters of the Liga ng mga Barangay, Panlalawigang Pederasyon ng mga Sangguniang Kabataan, provincial federation of sanggunian members, and three sectoral representatives.
The provincial governor may veto any ordinance within fifteen (15) days for being prejudicial to the public welfare. The vetoed ordinance is returned with written objections. The sangguniang panlalawigan may override the veto by two-thirds (2/3) vote of all its members, making the ordinance effective despite the veto.
The provincial vice governor assumes the office; if unable, the highest ranking sanggunian member according to their vote proportion assumes the position.
They are filled by appointment by the President through the Executive Secretary, with the nominee coming from the same political party as the vacancy-causing member, or by the provincial governor if the member was independent.
The provincial treasurer must be a Filipino citizen, resident of the province, of good moral character, holder of a college degree preferably in commerce, public administration, or law, first grade civil service eligible or equivalent, with at least five (5) years experience in treasury or accounting service.
The provincial health officer supervises provincial health services, formulates and implements public health policies, enforces health laws and ordinances, recommends ordinances for public health preservation, conducts health campaigns, coordinates with agencies and supervises component city and municipal health offices.
The provincial legal officer represents the province in all civil actions and special proceedings where the province or its officials are parties in their official capacity, drafts legal documents, provides legal opinions, investigates misconduct, and prosecutes offenses.
At least five (5) provincial fire stations must be established within two (2) months of the province's corporate existence, headed by a provincial fire marshal with qualifications under Republic Act No. 9263, responsible for fire prevention, suppression, rescue, and evacuation.
The provincial assessor supervises real property appraisal and assessment, establishes systematic assessment methods, maintains tax mapping, conducts physical surveys, and exercises technical supervision over component city and municipal assessors.
The sangguniang panlalawigan enacts ordinances for annual and supplemental appropriations, levies taxes, fees, and charges, authorizes loans and bonds issuance, appropriates funds for provincial use, and reviews land use plans to promote welfare and development.
The sangguniang panlalawigan must hold at least one regular session per week, with special sessions called as needed. A majority of all elected members constitute a quorum, and members absent without justifiable cause can be compelled to attend. Sessions are open to the public unless closed for security or morality reasons.