The government has suspended the Balik Probinsiya, Bagong Pag-asa Program (BP2) so that it can focus on transporting stranded individuals in Metro Manila to the provinces, National Housing Authority General Manager Marcelino Escalada Jr. said Thursday.
In a televised briefing, Escalada said President Rodrigo Duterte gave clear orders to help overseas Filipino workers, tourists, students and construction workers who have been stranded due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“These are all people in Metro Manila who are temporarily here, because there is an absence of transportation. There are no flights, sea travel or bus, therefore they were stranded here,” Escalada said in a mix of English and Filipino.
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Rather than let them go hungry here, the government launched an initiative called Hatid Tulong to help them get home, Escalada said.
He added that these needs were more urgent compared to those of people wanting to join the BP2 program.
Excalada said the BP2 could resume once transportation is available and those stranded by the quarantine restrictions have returned home, possibly by July.
Escalada said measures being done both under the Hatid Tulong and Balik Probinsya programs are in compliance with the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) guidelines and adhere to required health protocols such as medical certificates, travel authorities and rapid tests for COVID-19.
He assured local executives that before departure, these individuals have duly complied with the tests and clearance requirements.
Escalada added that for BP2, they are now requiring an official communication coming from the provincial governors and mayors where the beneficiaries are returning, stating that the province is ready to receive and accept their own constituents.
Meanwhile, the Manila International Airport Authority has prohibited passengers from entering the airport without confirmed domestic flights.
Private cars and public utility vehicles carrying air travelers from Nueva Ecija, and Silang in Cavite as well as Quezon City, were not allowed to enter the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 on Thursday as security personnel put up a barricade a few meters away from the checkpoints leading to Terminal 3.
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MIAA earlier reminded domestic air travelers not to go to NAIA unless they have confirmed flights in a bid to decongest the NAIA terminal that was earlier crowded with people hoping to go back to their home provinces.
Airport general manager Eddie Monreal said in a statement that most of these passengers are locally stranded individuals who stayed at the NAIA hoping to secure walk-in flight bookings.
Airport security personnel said there are hundreds of locally stranded individuals that were temporarily staying under the flyover bridge or overpass leading to the NAIA Terminal 3.
Concerned individuals and some airport officers provided them food and water to drink.
Most of these, especially those staying at the curbside of NAIA Terminal 2, went to the airport last month to take their chances.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has activated a tracking system to monitor all overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who will return to the Philippines during the COVID 19 pandemic, to ensure the safety of their families and the public as well as to provide them livelihood assistance.
A huge number of OFWs displaced by the pandemic worldwide are expected to arrive in the country in the coming weeks and need to be given priority assistance, such as COVID testing, quarantine facilities and financial assistance as almost all of them lost their jobs.
Called the OFW Assistance Information System (OASIS), the locator will facilitate an orderly and smooth repatriation, and assistance to the huge number of returning OFWs.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the repatriation tracker will make the government more responsive and prepared for the arrival of our OFWs.
“Through this system, the government can track the whereabouts of our returning OFWs and provide them prompt assistance and relief upon their return to the country,” Bello said.
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