Cong. Evadone urges gov’t to revive ‘Balik Probinsya Program’

By BRYAN M. AZURA
August 15, 2012

BORONGAN CITY  –  Congressman Ben Evardone (LP, Lone District, Eastern Samar) is urging the national government to revive the Balik Probinsya Program to encourage informal settlers in Metro Manila to move back to their own provinces.

In a statement, Evardone said that informal settlers who will be directly affected by the clearing operations of waterways and easements should be given priority should this program be restored.

Earlier, Secretary Jessie Robredo of Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) made a statement that the national government is planning to relocate some 100,000 informal settlers living near danger zones in Metro Manila.

Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson also said early this week that the government would “blast” the houses of informal settlers and other blockages that worsen flooding. Singson’s announcement drew flak from urban poor groups.

Evardone, however said that the government’s effort to free the waterways and easement areas is a bold and laudable move. I fully support the initiative of President Aquino to clear waterways and easement areas of informal settlers for their safety, Evardone said.

The congressman for his part believes that while the sight of relocating informal settlers is unacceptable to some sectors but he said the government needs to do something to ease up the worsening floods in urban areas like Metro Manila. With his (PNoy) political will, I don’t see any reason why this will not succeed, Evardone stressed.

Under a revived Balik Probinsya Program, the neophyte congressman is proposing that those who will avail should be given free transportation allowance, start-up capital to enable them to start livelihood projects and dislocation allowance. They should also be given priority in housing programs of National Housing Authority (NHA) and the Local Government Units (LGUs), Evardone added.

He said that the DSWD should also prioritize them in their core shelter program. Evardone also said that this arrangement should also provide beneficiaries free agricultural and fishing equipment and tools, scholarship of their children and automatic membership in the Conditional Cash Transfer Program of DSWD. He also is urging the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to also provide livelihood training programs to affected individuals or families.

The DILG should mandate LGUs to provide counterpart programs to those who will be relocated to their areas, he continued.

Eastern Samar’s representative said that with this program, it will help ease the resistance of those who will be relocated.