The National Housing Authority (NHA) is expecting to catch the interest of about a million Metro Manila residents in going back to their provinces in the next six months.
In a Laging Handa briefing on Tuesday, NHA General Manager Marcelino P. Escalada Jr. said the housing agency has gathered 5,000 enrollees for the Balik Probinsya program in a span of only five days.
Escalada assured that the government will facilitate the return of Metro Manila residents to their provinces even in the next two to 10 years embodied under the government’s long-term plan to move back city dwellers to the regions.
“Basic to this is that this [program] is voluntary in nature, willing, and you are informed,” Escalada said. “In short this is a voluntary action by anybody living in Metro Manila right now [who] after a year, or two, or even 10 years [would like to return to their provinces]. So we will facilitate the return of our kababayan to the regional urban centers, or rural centers they would like to choose.”
Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Eduardo del Rosario said in the same briefing that those who would like to return immediately to their respective provinces may avail of over 3,000 housing units that have yet to be claimed.
Del Rosario said the housing units are located nationwide and may increase given that Escalada assured the NHA’s work of building houses to plug the country’s housing backlog continues.
Escalada said the NHA has sufficient funds to cover the housing needs of returnees. He said apart from its budget, the agency can also tap into a still to be determined “cash back up” for the construction of housing units.
DHSUD noted that it has opted to turn over to the national government P261 million of its budget to increase resources for the Covid-19 response.
Del Rosario told the BusinessMirror that the funds were initially allocated from his agency’s maintenance and other operating expenses, as well as purchase for new vehicles.
“Of course, the housing projects of NHA will continue,” Escalada told the BusinessMirror. “We are allowed to use and realign funds under the EO [Executive Order 114]. We don’t have a figure but we need to determine first the [number of] enrollees,” he added.
Based on date obtained from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), migration has reversed in recent years. Regions like the Metro Manila have experienced the highest out migration based in 2018 data.
In 2018, there were 509,000 Filipinos who out-migrated from Metro Manila, outpacing the 388,000 in-migrants in the region. This led to a contraction of 121,000 net number of migrants.
Other regions that also account for a big chunk of the Philippine economy, such as Central Luzon also saw more out-migrants at 109,000 in 2018, outpacing the 41,000 in-migrants.
In terms of regions outside the National Capital Region (NCR) with higher in-migrants than out-migrants were Calabarzon, Eastern Visayas, Bicol region, Davao and Ilocos region.
“It would also be worth note that in recent years, migration has been showing a reversal of direction, i.e., the subject regions while maintaining status as in-migrant areas are also becoming more like out-migrant areas. NCR and Central Luzon are now among the top net-migrant losing regions,” PSA reported.
Escalada expressed confidence that the Balik Probinsya program has a high chance of success since the program is being done in close coordination with other government agencies, as well as local government units (LGUs).
He said the Departments of Agriculture, Trade and Industry, Labor and Employment, Social Welfare and Development, and Agrarian Reform, among other are also onboard in implementing the program.