A party-list lawmaker has expressed his full support for the government’s “Balik Probinsya” program aimed at decongesting the National Capital Region (NCR) amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Rep. Presley de Jesus of the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association (PHILRECA) party-list welcomed the institutionalization of the “Balik Probinsya” program, and expressed the rural electrification sector’s willingness to cooperate with its implementation.
“Electric co-ops have been a partner of the national government over the past five decades.”
De Jesus believes electric cooperatives (ECs) have a major part to play in the roll out of the program, adding that sustainable development in the countryside cannot be achieved without rural electrification.
The party-list lawmaker also said that electric co-ops have been a partner of the national government over the past five decades in its efforts to spur economic and social development in the regions.
Last May 6, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order (EO) No. 114 institutionalizing the “Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa” (BP2) program as a pillar of balanced regional development.
It aims to “ensure balanced regional development and equitable distribution of wealth, resources and opportunities through policies and programs that boost countryside development and inclusive growth, provide adequate social services, and promote full employment, industrialization, and an improved quality of life in rural areas.”
“The uncontrolled upsurge of population in the NCR brings to the fore longstanding issues on the lack of viable and sustainable employment opportunities in the countryside, unbalanced regional development, and unequal distribution of wealth,” EO 114 stated.
“To reverse migration to the NCR and other congested metropolises, as well as to attain rural prosperity through equitable distribution of wealth, resources and opportunities, a balanced regional development program to foster socially cohesive, resilient and sustainable rural communities needs to be institutionalized,” the order added.
The Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa Council, which will be chaired by the Executive Secretary and co-chaired by the Socio-Economic Planning secretary and the National Economic and Development Authority director general, has also been created to ensure “whole-of-government action” on the implementation of the program.