Capitol’s ‘Balik Pinas’ program serves 3,127 Kapampangans
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO— Some 3, 27 overseas Kapampangans have been assisted in their return home as well as quarantine needs since the start of the Balik Pinas, Balik Pampanga program of the Provincial Government of Pampanga.
The Provincial Government of Pampanga, in a bulletin, said that as of January 4 were some 3,087 have already been
sent home while 40 are still in quarantine.
The province had extended assistance to the returning overseas Kapampangans through RT-PCR testing and mandatory quarantine in government quarantine facilities.Theprovincehelpsprocesstheirquarantineresultsandevenferriesthemtotheir respective towns and cities after quarantine. Just this week, 20 people who have been sent home after passing health protocols.
However, due to the new coronavirus strain from the United Kingdom, services of the Balik Pinas, Balik Pampanga have been suspended for overseas Kapampangans coming from flagged countries.
The Capitol will not be entertaining requests for the ferry, swab tests and handling of quarantine for the Kapampangans who have stayed in the 27 flagged countries. This is in line with the memorandum from the One Stop Shop (OSS) for Management of Returning Overseas Filipinos issued on January 8.
The OSS will temporarily handle Kapampangans who will be coming in from said countries. The 27 flagged countries include the United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan, Australia, Israel, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Switzerland, France, Spain, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Lebanon, Singapore, Sweden, South Korea, South Africa, Denmark, Canada, Brazil, Portugal, United States, India, Finland, Norway and Jordan.
As for Kapampangans coming in from other countries not in the said list, the Capitol will continue processing their quarantine, swab and return needs.
The Balik Pinas, Balik Pampanga program fast-tracks the processing of repatriated Kapampangan overseas Filipino workers, including non-working individuals, to their families after months of being stranded across the globe.