A lawmaker from the Bicol region on Tuesday pushed for a bill designed to boost investments, create jobs and drive strong growth outside the metropolis.
Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte, author of the proposed “Balik Probinsya Act of 2020,” said the measure will put flesh into the BP2 (Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pagasa) program that President Rodrigo Duterte established last year in the hope of stimulating economic activity and creating quality jobs in the provinces.
Villafuerte said the enactment of his bill will provide a “genuine and vibrant countryside or rural development.”
“On top of finally decongesting Metro Manila and neighboring urban centers, putting President Duterte’s Balik Probinsya (BP2) program on the fast track via Housse Bill 6970 will encourage investors to set up shop in, or expand their present businesses in Greater Manila to, the regions,” he added.
Villafuerte earlier urged Malacañang to certify HB No. 6970 as urgent.
The country’s largest business organization – with a membership of 35,000 small, medium and large enterprises nationwide – has given its full backing to the President’s BP2 initiative as it endorsed Villafuerte’s bill.
In a letter sent to President Duterte, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) president Ambassador Benedicto Yujuico and former GMA-7 president-CEO Menardo Jimenez, who chairs the PCCI’s Balik Probinsya program, underscored the need to make the program sustainable.