CEBU CITY, Cebu, June 4 (PIA) -- The Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa (BP2) Program has helped hundreds of families in Central Visayas since the government started implementing the program in the region in 2021.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), one of the lead agencies in charge of facilitating the BP2 program, said the program was able to assist 343 families in Region 7 in 2021.
DSWD, along with other implementing agencies, launched BP2P at a time when COVID-19 cases are reportedly high and the program became a great help for the families as they counter the effects of the pandemic, especially the impact on their employment and livelihood situation.
For 2022, another 41 beneficiaries of the BP2P were dispatched from Metro Manila and brought back to Central Visayas on June 2 where 16 individuals from four families returned to Cebu Province and 25 individuals from five families in the province of Bohol.
According to DSWD-7, more families and partner local government units will be served as the implementation of the program will continue this year in response to the government’s initiatives to decongest urban poor areas and develop rural communities.
For 2022, the program is set to partner and collaborate with 22 different cities and municipalities in Central Visayas, aiming to provide assistance and deliver other support services to more than 200 family beneficiaries.
A family who is part of the latest batch of the Cebu BP2P beneficiaries arriving at the Mactan Cebu International Airport. (PIA7)
DSWD-7 has already conducted the preliminary activities such as situational assessment, family background verification, and other preparations for another year of provision of transitory support packages, community grants, and livelihood assistance to Filipino families who will qualify as beneficiaries under the BP2P.
The BP2 program was enacted through Executive Order No. 114 issued by Pres. Rodrigo Duterte to provide measures that can support the decongestion of urban communities by facilitating the beneficiaries’ safe return to their home provinces with the inclusion of long-term assistance like social and livelihood services. (RGC/PIA7)
