Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go urged concerned government agencies to work together to assist Locally Stranded Individuals (LSIs) who are looking for ways to get home to their provinces amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
Go issued the appeal even as Deputy Speaker and Camarines Sur Rep, Luis Raymund Villafuerte has filed the Balik Probinsiya bill, to fastrack the implementation of President Duterte’s Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-Asa program.
In filing House Bill (HB) 6970, Villafuerte is banking on public investments and incentives as the linchpin of a two-pronged approach to encourage people who have migrated to the heavily congested National Capital Region (NCR) to return to their home provinces and for those who have opted to stay put in their cities or municipalities to remain there instead of relocating to Metro Manila in search of jobs or better livelihood opportunities.
“The flip side of urban congestion came to the fore amid the global health emergency as Metro Manila, which is the world’s 15th most densely populated city—according to data from the CityMayorsStatistics, a global source for urban statistics—easily became Covid-19’s epicenter in the country, accounting for 68 percentor almost 7 out of every 10 infections,” said Villafuerte, representative of Camarines Sur's Second District.
HB 6970 provides for “comprehensive, multi-sectoral planning and a mix of top-down and bottom-up policy interventions that will channel public investment and create incentives for growth in the countryside” by encouraging businesses to relocate or expand to rural areas via a slew of government come-ons such as tax breaks; incentives for relocation and creation of new jobs; and low-interest loans and financial aid for investors who will engage in rural industrialization.
Villafuerte is also a lead author of HB 6864, the House-approved bill aiming to gear up Filipinos to the "better normal" way of life via social or physical distancing plus other health and safety protocols to prevent transmission of the highly infectious Covid-19, which World Health Organization (WHO) officials expect to stay with us for a long time.
Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and some 196 other solons have co-authored HB 6864.
HB 6970 was filed on the heels of President Duterte’s issuance of Executive Order (EO) No. 114, which mandates a multi-sectoral comprehensive program to decongest NCR and encourage Filipino workers here and abroad to go back to their home regions and live—and work—there for good.
EO 114 was issued last May 6 following Mr. Duterte’s endorsement of this back-to-the-provinces program when Sen. Christopher Lawrence Go, who is Balik Probinsya’s lead advocate, spoke about it during one of the President’s televised public addresses.
“Encouraging Metro Manila-based workers to return to their home provinces against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic will only become an effective strategy to decongest the metropolis and spur genuine rural growth and development if Government will provide the essential physical and social infrastructure, tax incentives and other financial assistance not only to entice Filipinos to make an exodus to the countryside but also encourage those residing in their provinces to stay put,” Villafuerte said.
Go, meanwhile, has called on concerned government agencies to raise public awareness on other similar existing government initiatives that can help stranded Filipinos return home in a manner that will not risk spreading the disease to other communities.
President Rodrigo Duterte previously directed all concerned agencies to help LSIs return home saying, “mga Pilipino ito, mga kababayan natin. Accept them and provide sequestration houses… they should be quarantined."
In the meantime, Go’s office has extended aid to individuals stranded at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Frequency of flights of airline companies had been limited due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“I have talked to many of them. They are tired and frightened but also extremely grateful for the efforts of both the government and private individuals who helped so that they can return to their families,” the senator said.
Go’s office also sought assistance from the Pasay City local government which promptly sent tents and chairs that were used as temporary shelter by the stranded individuals near NAIA.
His office staff coordinated with concerned agencies and an airline company to arrange a flight for 162 passengers bound for General Santos City and Davao City. The airline company required a minimum number of persons on board in order to fly.
The staff also distributed meals and grocery packs to the stranded passengers while the Department of Social Welfare and Development gave additional assistance and financial aid through its applicable existing programs.
Go wished the travelers well in a personal call before their flight on June 12. He also emphasized the importance of proper coordination with receiving local government units. For example, General Santos City Mayor Ronnel Rivera had issued a certificate permitting the airline to land at the General Santos International Airport where 76 individuals bound for Davao City would be collected by the Davao City local government.
All returning passengers underwent rapid testing for COVID-19 at the Villamor Air Base before being allowed to travel.
They went through a second screening at the General Santos International Airport upon arrival and were made to observe the mandatory fourteen-day quarantine by their local government unit.
Go’s office has previously assisted other LSIs, including 45 LSIs who remained stuck in Cebu City for two months.
More LSIs are waiting for their rescheduled flights and are temporarily sheltered at the Villamor Air Base Elementary School in Pasay City and at the Philippine Army Wellness Center in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City.
As a matter of protocol, they will also undergo health screening procedures before they are transferred.
Not to be confused with the Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa (BP2) program, Hatid Tulong is a government initiative implemented to help individuals, tourists, students and overseas Filipino workers left locally stranded by the outbreak return to their hometowns.
Go said Hatid Tulong is a joint effort by concerned agencies, such as the Department of Transportation and its attached agencies, Department of Tourism, DSWD, and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, among others. .
In a recent statement, BP2 Executive Director and National Housing Authority General Manager Marcelino Escalada Jr. said that the BP2 council decided to reschedule the subsequent rollouts of BP2 beneficiaries in order for government agencies to prioritize the Hatid Tulong program.
“As a matter of strategy, we decided na suspend muna ang ating roll outs for the Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa to give way… Unahin natin [ang Hatid Tulong] kasi this was a very clear instruction from the President: unahin [at] pauwiin ang mga kababayan na stranded dito sa Maynila,” Escalada said.
Meanwhile, Villafuerte and Cayetano co-authored the House-approved HB 6709 or the COVID-19 Unemployment Reduction Economic Stimulus (CURES) Act, which is a P1.3-trillion, three-year stimulus program anchored on accelerated spending in the countryside on health, education, agriculture, local roads, livelihood, information and communication technology (ICT) and tourism (HEAL IT) infrastructure.