Editing Provinces of the Philippines (section)

==== Rejected in a plebiscite ====
* '''Isabela del Norte and Isabela del Sur''' (1995){{snd}}On February 20, 1995, ''Republic Act No. 7891'',<ref name="ids">{{Cite web |title=PHILIPPINE LAWS, STATUTES AND CODES - CHAN ROBLES VIRTUAL LAW LIBRARY |url=https://www.chanrobles.com/republicacts/republicactno7891.html |website=www.chanrobles.com |access-date=October 2, 2021 |archive-date=June 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613140945/https://www.chanrobles.com/republicacts/republicactno7891.html |url-status=live }}</ref> which sought to divide the province of [[Isabela (province)|Isabela]], was approved. Isabela del Norte was to comprise municipalities belonging to the province's [[Legislative districts of Isabela#1st District|first]] and [[Legislative districts of Isabela#2nd District|second congressional districts]] with [[Ilagan, Isabela|Ilagan]] serving as capital. Isabela del Sur was to consist of the [[Legislative districts of Isabela#3rd District|third]] and [[Legislative districts of Isabela#4th District|fourth congressional districts]] (excluding the independent component city of [[Santiago, Isabela|Santiago]]), with [[Cauayan, Isabela|Cauayan]] as the capital. The proposed division was rejected in a plebiscite held on June 20, 1995.
* '''Quezon del Norte and Quezon del Sur''' (2007){{snd}}The act dividing the province of [[Quezon]] into two, ''Republic Act No. 9495'',<ref name="qds">{{Cite web |title=Republic Act No. 9495 |url=http://www.ops.gov.ph/records/issuances-ra/RA9495.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228060727/http://www.ops.gov.ph/records/issuances-ra/RA9495.pdf |archive-date=February 28, 2008}}</ref> lapsed into law without [[Gloria Macapagal Arroyo|the President]]'s signature on September 7, 2007. Quezon del Norte (which would be renamed from Quezon) was to be composed of the [[Legislative districts of Quezon#1st District|first]] and [[Legislative districts of Quezon#2nd District|second congressional districts]] of the province, with [[Lucena, Philippines|Lucena]] as its capital. Quezon del Sur, with its capital at [[Gumaca, Quezon|Gumaca]], would have been composed of the [[Legislative districts of Quezon#3rd District|third]] and [[Legislative districts of Quezon#4th District|fourth congressional districts]]. The COMELEC held the [[2008 Quezon del Sur creation plebiscite|plebiscite]] on December 13, 2008, and the majority of the votes rejected the division. Notwithstanding the voters' rejection, all the representatives of Quezon's four legislative districts—Wilfrido Mark Enverga, Irvin Alcala, [[Danilo Suarez]], and [[Erin Tañada|Lorenzo Tañada III]]—reintroduced the measure as House Bill No. 3839 on December 8, 2010. They explained that “the wisdom, logic and bare facts behind what is driving this bill to be filed again in this Congress remain,” citing the persistence of poverty in far-flung coastal municipalities and small islands. Yet, the bill did not make it out of the committee level this time.<ref>{{Cite web|title=House Bill No. 3839 (15th Congress)|url=https://hrep-website.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/legisdocs/basic_15/HB03839.pdf|access-date=December 24, 2023|publisher=[[Congress of the Philippines]]|archive-date=June 13, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613140945/https://hrep-website.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/legisdocs/basic_15/HB03839.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=House Bill No. 3839 (15th Congress)|url=https://issuances-library.senate.gov.ph/bills/house-bill-no-3839-15th-congress-republic|access-date=December 24, 2023|publisher=[[Senate of the Philippines|Senate of the Philippines Legislative Digital Resources]]|archive-date=December 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231224103709/https://issuances-library.senate.gov.ph/bills/house-bill-no-3839-15th-congress-republic|url-status=live}}</ref>
* '''Palawan del Norte''', '''Palawan Oriental''', and '''Palawan del Sur''' (2021){{spaced ndash}} On April 5, 2019, President [[Rodrigo Duterte]] signed Republic Act No. 11259 that proposed the division the province of Palawan, with the exception of the independent city of [[Puerto Princesa]], into three separate provinces. A [[2021 Palawan division plebiscite|plebiscite]] was originally scheduled for the second Monday of May 2020<ref>{{Cite news |last=Leila B. Salaverria |date=April 14, 2019 |title=Plebiscite on splitting Palawan into 3 provinces set for 2020 |publisher=[[Philippine Daily Inquirer]] |url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1106550/plebiscite-on-splitting-palawan-into-3-provinces-set-for-2020 |access-date=May 25, 2020 |archive-date=April 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414125206/https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1106550/plebiscite-on-splitting-palawan-into-3-provinces-set-for-2020 |url-status=live }}</ref> but was postponed to March 2021 due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines|COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sofia Tomacruz |date=April 7, 2020 |title=Comelec suspends Palawan plebiscite due to coronavirus outbreak |publisher=[[Rappler]] |url=https://www.rappler.com/nation/257261-comelec-suspends-palawan-plebiscite-coronavirus-outbreak |access-date=May 25, 2020 |archive-date=April 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200410085832/https://www.rappler.com/nation/257261-comelec-suspends-palawan-plebiscite-coronavirus-outbreak |url-status=live }}</ref> Palawan del Norte would have been composed of [[Taytay, Palawan|Taytay]] and municipalities north of it. Palawan del Sur would have been composed of the municipalities west and south of Puerto Princesa, including [[Kalayaan, Palawan|Kalayaan]] (which administers the country's claims in the [[Spratly Islands]]), while the rest were proposed to form Palawan Oriental. The proposed provincial capitals would have been [[Taytay, Palawan|Taytay]] (Palawan del Norte), [[Brooke's Point]] (Palawan del Sur), and [[Roxas, Palawan|Roxas]] (Palawan Oriental).<ref name="palawan">{{Cite news |date=April 2, 2018 |title=Palawan congressmen want province split into 3 |newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer |url=http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/979501/palawan-congressmen-want-province-split-into-3 |access-date=July 9, 2018 |archive-date=July 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712122324/http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/979501/palawan-congressmen-want-province-split-into-3 |url-status=live }}</ref> The COMELEC held the plebiscite on March 13, 2021, and the majority of the votes rejected the division.