Balik Probinsya, Hatid Probinsya programs clarified By Ali G. Macabalang

The Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa Program (BPBPP) and the Hatid Probinsya Program, both vital state initiatives, differ from one another in scope and objectives, according to key government officials.

Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Chair Emmanuel Piñol and DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya issued clarifications after skeptics including critics from leftist bloc appeared to be wary and confused about the natures and scopes of the two vital interventions.

Sec. Piñol allayed fear among some people that the Balik Probinsya program may become another scheme for “land grabbing” in Bangsamoro communities, while Usec. Malaya pointed out the difference between the BPBPP and the Hatid Probinsya program.

The BPBPP, Malaya said, is a long-term program designed to help low-income families in Metro Manila resettle in their home provinces, especially those who live in overcrowded informal settlement areas.

He said Hatid Probinsya, on the other hand, is a “short-term, humanitarian effort” to send home residents stranded in Metro Manila due to travel restrictions imposed under the enhanced community quarantine.

‘Ill-conceived’

The Gabriela party list group had criticized Balik Probinsya as “haphazard and ill-conceived,” purportedly manifesting the government’s inability to protect and provide services to the marginalized, especially during this pandemic.

But Malaya said Gabriela erred in equating Balik Probinsya and Hatid Probinsya to be one and the same program.

“This is not a quick fix as Gabriela claims but a long-term solution to provide health-care and job opportunities in rural areas,” Malaya said, adding that the party list group was confusing two different programs.

The Balik Probinsya has been conceived by Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go and supported by President Rodrigo Duterte, with his issuance of Executive Order No. 114 on May 6. The government sent off the first batch of beneficiaries of the BPBPP on May 20.

Hatid Probinsiya complemented the BPBPP by way of sending people, including displaced overseas Filipino workers, students, travelers and simple tourists, who had been stranded in returning to their provinces because of quarantine rules, said Malaya.

But another leftist party list group, Anakpawis, argued that Balik Probinsya did not address issues that have led to systemic persecution of rural-based sectors in the country.

In a statement, former Anakpawis party list Rep. Ariel Casilao denounced the Balik Probinsya program because “it blabbers about balanced regional development” without providing solutions to the real reasons people migrate to Metro Manila and other urban centers.

Three phases

EO 114, which outlines the program, has three phases. In the “immediate” phase, those who wish to return to their provinces will be given aid, transportation and livelihood.

The “mediate” phase promises decent jobs, a house and lot, the institutionalization of health and education services, and peace and order, while the final “long-term” phase covers strengthening of urban renewal and rural development, as well as incentives for businesses that relocate to the provinces and the creation of a sustainable environment.

The Balik Probinsya program implementation in Mindanao is spearheaded by the MinDA, according to Sen. Go and Palace officials.

Piñol earlier announced that four provinces – Zamboanga del Norte, Lanao del Norte, North Cotabato and Bukidnon – had committed to pilot the Balik Probinsya program.

Governors Roberto Uy of Zamboanga Norte, Imelda Quibranza-Dimaporo of Lanao Norte, Jose Zubiri of Bukidnon and Nancy Alaan Catamco of North Cotabato had already committed initial lands to house the resettlement areas of their returning constituents from Metro Manila, he said.

He assured that the BPBPP will have no room for unwanted migrants to encroach again areas now covered by the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

“The fear that migrant families will occupy Bangsamoro lands under the Balik Probinsya Program has no basis because the guiding principle of the BPBPP is ‘families could only go back to their home province,’” Sec. Piñol said

“This means that a family from Zamboanga del Norte could only go home to Zamboanga del Norte and nobody to go to Maguindanao unless the family is originally from Maguindanao,” he added.

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He pointed out that the “Balik Probinsya will in fact be a form of healing as Bangsamoro People who left their homes because of the conflict, could now go home with the assistance of government.”

“This (BPBPP) is the pinnacle of the Peace Initiatives of President Duterte when Bangsamoro families affected by the war could finally come home and live in peace,” Sec. Pinol said. (Ali G. Macabalang)