By Leslie Ann Aquino A Catholic prelate said the revived “Balik probinsya” (back to the province) program will not work unless the government and businesses pour massive investments in rural areas. Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo
(CBCP NEWS / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) Bishop Broderick Pabillo, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Manila, said this is in order for people to get adequate human services and jobs in the provinces. He said the back to the province program is not new as there have been many such programs in the past and “they have all failed”. Pabillo said people who were sent to the provinces came back to cities after some time because of the need for jobs. “Now they promise to give skills training to the people and give them a bit of a capital for them to stay there. This is already a positive realization,” he said in a CBCP News post. But, Pabillo said, this is not enough. “In a word, the development plan – and the budget – should all be aligned to give importance to the rural areas in order to develop the agricultural and fishery sectors of our society,” he said. The bishop also said that the pandemic should serve as a “wake up call” for the government to pay attention to the “neglected” sector of agriculture. The quarantine period, he said, has once more brought to the fore the essential services that the farmers and fisher folk render to the public. “They are essential to our economy and to our survival,” Pabillo said. President Duterte on May 6 institutionalized the “Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa Program,” which seeks to decongest Metro Manila and boost countryside development. The struggle to contain the spread of coronavirus has spurred the authorities to address the massive numbers and densities of Metro Manila’s informal settlements.#