In hopes of securing more opportunities to advance in life, it is not uncommon for those in rural areas to pack up their bags and try their luck in the cities. So often we hear stories of our fellow Filipinos who are making a living in Metro Manila after leaving their respective provinces.

While some have managed to thrive, many others are left worse off than they were before. Trying to escape poverty from the countryside, they unfortunately just become an addition to the mounting number of urban poor and informal settlers.

Indeed, this stark reality became even more glaring at the height of the pandemic when business operations were disrupted and sources of income even in Metro Manila were hard to come by. It has then become more imperative for us to focus on inclusive economic growth and rural development to address the worsening conditions of the urban poor. Thus, I had persistently pushed for the Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa program, which was later institutionalized under Executive Order 114 issued by then president Rodrigo Duterte.

The BP2 aims in the long run to encourage residents of Metro Manila and businesses to settle and invest in regions outside the capital to bring balanced regional development and equitable distribution of wealth, resources, and opportunities through policies and programs that boost countryside development and inclusive growth.

The program also provides adequate social services to the people, promotes employment, and focuses on key areas, such as empowerment of local industries, food security, and infrastructure development in rural areas. It has so far facilitated the return of hundreds of individuals and families to their home provinces provided with sustainable livelihood grants and other incentives.

To ensure that those who reside in rural areas lacking job opportunities are taken care of, I also recently filed Senate Bill 420, establishing a Rural Employment Assistance Program under the Department of Labor and Employment, which shall provide temporary employment to qualified individuals who are poor, disadvantaged, displaced or seasonal workers willing to work for a minimum of 10 days, but not more than 90 days in a calendar year.

Through a more holistic approach in addressing poverty and promoting economic development, we may likewise address the root causes of insurgencies in our country. This is also the reason why I have been a firm supporter of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict as it has significantly helped in our whole-of-nation approach against armed conflicts by prioritizing and harmonizing the delivery of basic services and social development packages by the government.