Salceda defends ‘Balik Probinsya’ program, cites benefits

Economist-congressman Joey Salceda of Albay defended on Sunday (May 17) the Duterte administration's Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pagasa (BP2) program, particularly from criticism that it's just a way to “dump the urban poor [in] the provinces.”

Salceda, chairman of the House ways and means committee, claimed that critics were “misreading the executive order” that contained the BP2 program, meaning

Executive Order (EO) No. 114 signed last May 6.

“The EO was very clear: urban congestion is not the main problem, but is a symptom of something larger and more structural. The EO was explicit about the policy pronouncement: ‘The uncontrolled upsurge in the NCR (National Capital Region) brings to the fore longstanding issues on the lack of viable and sustainable opportunities in the countryside, unbalanced regional development, and unequal distribution of wealth’,” he said.

“I don’t know where they got the idea that the EO wants to dump the poor [in] the countryside without addressing the underlying issues,” Salceda added, referring to the program’s critics.

He further described the Palace directive as a signal to government agencies to embark on the building of a “truly Filipino system, where the countryside and the cities are both engines of growth and development, and where opportunities are equitably distributed between the rural and urban Philippines.”

The BP2 program is viewed as an offshoot of lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, it is consistent with the Duterte administration's mantra of countryside development.

Salceda, a co-chair of the economic stimulus cluster of the House Defeat COVID-19 Committee (DCC), said that BP2 is in line with the key principles of "Dutertenomics," which is the core of the President’s socioeconomic agenda.

“Dutertenomics has always been guided by the simple principle that all Filipinos deserve a comfortable life. That the urban dweller and those in rural areas deserve the same level of comfort and are entitled to a just share of national development. That’s why we in Congress have responded in earnest: With such policies as CITIRA (Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Reform Act), a reform that is structurally biased towards countryside development; and with our support for 'Build, Build, Build' and key reforms in agriculture,” he enumerated.

Salceda also says that BP2 and what he calls a “more humane urbanism” aren't mutually exclusive.

“The critics make it sound like you can only attend to either the city or the countryside. That’s not the way we govern. They’re thinking as if there is a socioeconomic discontinuity between NCR and the rest of the Philippines. There is none," he said.

"If you can develop the countryside and arrest rapid congestion in highly urbanized cities, you can make conditions more humane in those cities. If you can develop value-chains in the countryside, you make affordable, higher-quality goods available in the city. And if you can lay-out a sustainable way of governing the city, you prevent sprawl from eventually invading the countryside. BP2 says that in other words very clearly," added the former longtime Albay governor.

Salceda also said his office is coming up with proposals for a “green, hightech economy” that will reshape the country’s framework for development.

“As long as you have a digitallyenabled economy, why would you have to move to Manila if you can work in Albay and serve a customer abroad? Why would you have to move to Manila if you have a robust agricultural and agribusiness sector in the provinces?" he asked.

He noted that while COVID-19 unsettled the country's economic structures, there's always a chance to fix it. “As United Nations Green Climate Fund co-chair once, I think there is no better chance to restructure our economy around the principles of balanced regional distribution and modern, inclusive, and sustainable value chains than now.”

“The critics will lodge the old talking points, but the President’s instincts here are correct. We need to build both sustainable cities and a progressive countryside,” the Bicol congressman said.

Balik-Probinsya gets underway Meanwhile, Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go asked the government on Monday to immediately help all stranded individuals and families in Metro Manila and other urban centers and safeguard their welfare as the initial phase of the "Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa (BP2)" program gets underway.

“Most of our fellow Filipinos from the provinces who came to Metro Manila have already signified their intentions to go home. We will help them to be relocated under the BP2 program and other initiatives of the government,” Go said.

Among those who are included in the first batch of individuals who will be assisted to return to their provinces include 112 persons traveling alone bound for Leyte.

The first batch of returnees is part of the immediate-phase implementation of the BP2 program, according to National Housing Authority (NHA) General Manager and BP2 Program Council Executive Director Marcelino Escalada Jr. They are scheduled to leave early this week.

“Our target is 100 to 300 leaving for the provinces, depending upon the capacity of the local government units (LGUs) to undertake health protocols,” Escalada said.

Based on an update relayed by Escalada, transportation needs will be provided or facilitated by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) while cash allowances will be extended to them by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

A dispatch protocol will also be prepared by the Department of Health (DOH) to ensure that strict COVID-19 precautionary measures are followed during their return. All and succeeding returnees will be subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test by the DOH.

According to Escalada, NHA is preparing a dispatch site for the returnees.

For the initial batch, NHA is utilizing its property near Vertis North in Quezon City where a temporary terminal will be installed. The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will link up with the target LGUs to receive them and ensure that their other needs are met. All concerned government agencies will extend other needed assistance to the returnees upon arrival in the province based on their profile and assessment.

Returnees to Leyte are prioritized since the province has registered the highest number of individuals who signified readiness to return at 2,300 persons. Once they have been successfully brought back to Leyte, the program will have simultaneous trips to provinces throughout Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

Meanwhile, 55 individuals in Cebu are also expected to return to Davao City by next week under BP2 program. These include eighteen students, 21 people with disability, two senior citizens, a pregnant woman, and thirteen other individuals.

They have been tested by DOH for COVID-19 and will be given food by DSWD while they wait for their departure schedule.