Regional party Kusog Bicolandia supports Balik Probinsya
LEGAZPI CITY – The government’s Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pagasa program gained strong support from a coalition of concerned Bicolanos under the umbrella group known as Kusog Bicolandia.
In its position paper released earlier today, the regional party said President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order 114 assures regions outside growth areas like the Bicol, stand to benefit from development programs and equitable distribution of wealth.
KB’s Chairperson Emeritus Noel De Luna said it is time for well-meaning individuals and groups to unite and bring the long-awaited progress to the Bicol Region and entice the poor and unemployed in growth areas to return and begin their lives anew.
He said the national government will definitely respond to the need for retraining and acquiring new skills to earn better livelihoods.
The regional political party took note of the need to align four key areas including empowerment of local industries, food security and agricultural productivity, social welfare, health and employment as well as infrastructure development.
They called on the national government to implement the necessary groundwork which include the establishment of baseline information for the needed evidence-based analytics on the returning residents, receiving local government units, budget requirements to sustain the minimum basic needs per household and the needed adjustment in the localities’ internal revenue allotments.
Kusog Bicolandia said the national government should consider finding out who among the beneficiaries of the National Household Targeting System’s 4Ps would consider returning to their hometowns. The Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) can also be a source of information on the National Capital Region’s urban poor.
The regional political party also called on the national government to design its stimulus package to empower regions far from the considered growth centers.
Along these lines, Kusog Bicolandia will host a virtual regional consultation on Wednesday, June 10 with national leaders in attendance. Expected to deliver the keynote address is Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go while representatives from the Office of the President, Department of Interior and Local Government and NEDA will also speak on various topics.
Chairman Emeritus De Luna said he expects at least 200 participants from the region’s six provinces and six cities to join the consultation. (Melo M. Acuña)

Kusog Bicolandia Chair Emeritus Noel de Luna. (Rhaydz Barcia Photo)
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