''Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa'' (abbreviated as BP2; literally "Return to the Province, New Hope"), or simply ''Balik Probinsya'', is a socioeconomic program by the

Philippine government The Government of the Philippines ( fil, Pamahalaan ng Pilipinas) has three interdependent branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Philippines is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative and d ...

to reverse the migration of people to

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

and other urban areas, who were originally from more rural areas of the country.

History

The Balik Probinsya program was originally proposed by Senator

Bong Go Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Tesoro Go (; born June 14, 1974) is a Filipino politician serving as a Senator since 2019. He previously served in the Cabinet of President Rodrigo Duterte as Special Assistant to the President and Head of the Presi ...

. Go touted the program as a platform to give a "fresh start" to people after the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

by implementing a series of programs to help develop the quality of life in rural areas, in effect decongesting the densely populated areas of the country such as

by encouraging people to move to the countryside once COVID-19-related quarantine measures imposed across the country are lifted. Go argued that if Metro Manila had a lower population density, the government would be better equipped in dealing with future health emergencies. President

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...

issued Executive Order (EO) No. 114 on May 6 which took effect immediately, institutionalizing the Balik Probinsya program. An inter-agency council was also established to formulate the framework of the program within 30 days. Executive Secretary

Salvador Medialdea Salvador "Bingbong" Campo Medialdea (born October 14, 1951) is a Filipino lawyer, business executive and government administrator who served as the Executive Secretary of the Philippines, succeeding Paquito Ochoa Jr. at the start of President ...

was appointed to lead the council. The implementation of the program was suspended on June 11, to give more focus on aiding non-Metro Manila residents get back to their home provinces and cities under the separate Hatid Tulong program.

Council

President Duterte's executive order created the Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa Council, which is tasked to create a framework for the national government's implementation of the Balik Probinsya program. The composition of the council as follows: *Chairperson: Executive Secretary *Vice Chairperson: Socioeconomic Planning Secretary *Other members: ** Secretaries of Agriculture,

Agrarian Reform Agrarian reform can refer either, narrowly, to government-initiated or government-backed redistribution of agricultural land (see land reform) or, broadly, to an overall redirection of the agrarian system of the country, which often includes land re ...

, Budget and Management, Environment and Natural Resources,

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

, Human Settlements and Urban Development,

Finance Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...

Health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

Information and Communications Technology Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals) and computers, ...

, Interior and Local Government, Labor and Employment, Public Works and Highways, Social Welfare and Development, Trade and Industry,

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

Transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...

**Chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education **Director General of the

Technical Education and Skills Development Authority The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA ; fil, Pangasiwaan sa Edukasyong Teknikal at Pagpapaunlad ng Kasanayan) serves as the Philippines' Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) authority. As a government a ...

**Head of Cooperative Development Authority **Head of

Mindanao Development Authority The Mindanao Development Authority (Filipino: ''Pangasiwaang Pangkaunlaran ng Mindanao'', abbreviated MinDA) is a government agency of the Philippines created through Republic Act 9996 or the Mindanao Development Authority Act of 2010. The office ...

Welcome arch (BP2 Depot in Quezon City )

Program

The

National Housing Authority (Philippines) The National Housing Authority (NHA) is a government agency responsible for public housing in the Philippines. Established on July 31, 1975, it is organized as a government-owned and controlled corporation under the Department of Human Settleme ...

(NHA) says that around 10,000 people have expressed interest in benefiting from the program within the first two or three days of the program's launch. Among the top ten provinces applicants want to move to are

Camarines Sur Camarines Sur ( bcl, Habagatan na Camarines; tl, Timog Camarines), officially the Province of Camarines Sur, is a province in the Philippines located in the Bicol Region on Luzon. Its capital is Pili and the province borders Camarines Norte and ...

Bohol Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bohol; tl, Lalawigan ng Bohol), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region, consisting of the island itself and 75 m ...

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

, and

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

. The NHA has pledged to provide available houses to beneficiaries of the program and their voter registration will be adjusted accordingly by the

Commission on Elections An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

Controversies

The

Gabriela Women's Party The Gabriela Women's Party (General Assembly Binding Women for Integrity, Reform, Equality, Leadership and Action) or simply GABRIELA, is a progressive Filipino political party that advocates for women's issues and represents Filipino women in the ...

has criticized the Balik Probinsya program, saying it could create a "wave" of new COVID-19 cases amidst the pandemic situation, and citing two alleged Balik Probinsya beneficiaries in Leyte testing positive for the disease. They also believe the program is proof of the government's preference for temporary relief over long-term solutions and the program will bring more socioeconomic problems in the countryside. However the Department of Interior and Local Government disputed Gabriela's claims, saying that the two Leyte cases involved beneficiaries of a separate program, Hatid Probinsya, which aims to help non-residents stranded in Metro Manila to return to their home provinces, and insists that the Balik Probinsya program is a long-term solution which seeks to provide a platform for low-income families in urban areas to move to their home provinces while implementing relevant livelihood and infrastructure programs in the rural areas of the country.

References

External links