NHA chief: 1M Metro Manila residents could enroll in Balik Probinsiya program in 6 months

The number of Metro Manila residents who will enroll in the government's Balik Probinsiya program could reach as many as one million in six months if the current rate of applications continues, the chief of the National Housing Authority (NHA) said Tuesday.

At the Laging Handa briefing, NHA general manager Marcelino Escalada Jr., said 5,000 people have enrolled in the program since applications opened last Friday. 

He said eight local governments have signified that they are onboard the program, including Leyte, Camarines Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, Bukidnon, Lanao del Norte, Pangasinan, Quirino, and Marinduque.

President Rodrigo Duterte last week signed an executive order creating the Balik Probinsiya, Bagong Pag-asa Council, which will direct the implementation of the government initiative meant to decongest Metro Manila and promote countryside development.

Escalada, the council's executive director, said they have strategies for immediate action and for the long term.

The first applies to persons who would wish to return to the provinces until the end of the year and will involve eight government departments, including labor, social welfare, agriculture, and trade, to facilitate the transition, he said.

Innovations could come with new programs and new appropriations next year, and the long-term will involve policies and legislation, such as government decentralization, opening new economic zones, and increasing tax incentives for corporations that will operate in the provinces, the official said.

"The best option right now in our council is to more or less look into the potential of agricultural production and all other opportunities awaiting our people in the province," he said at the livestreamed briefing.

The official stressed that the program is voluntary and that enrollees and the receiving local government units will be given benefits.

For his part, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Eduardo del Rosario (DHSUD) said the department through the NHA has more than 3,000 available housing units in different regions for those who would want to immediately return to their provinces.—AOL, GMA News