NHA defends government’s Balik Probinsya program

The National Housing Authority (NHA) has defended the Balik Probinsya program against claims that it may have caused the spread of COVID-19 to areas that were coronavirus-free. 

 

Local officials in Leyte criticized the program for what they claim as failure to coordinate with local government units. They added that, of the 112 people who recently returned to the province, two tested positive for COVID-19 when they arrived last week. 

 

NHA executive director Marcelino Escalada Jr. clarified that those two COVID-positive individuals were not part of the Balik Probinsya program, but of the Hatid Probinsya program that offered transportation for stranded tourists in Metro Manila. 

 

Balik Probinsya founder Senator Bong Go also said the two COVID-positives were cleared by health authorities in Metro Manila, and that the disease might have developed in them on the way home. 

 

Escalada meanwhile said the government cannot stop people from returning to their home provinces.

 

“The pandemic virus is everywhere. Instead of complaining, why not start to prepare. We cannot hold them in Metro Manila. There’s no stable sense of human dignity already,” Escalada said.

 

Escalada said the Balik Probinsya program will resume the transport of people on June 11. He added that 79,000 applicants have already signed up for the program.