Alejandro and Marcia are Boholanos who planned to finally resettle in the province since February, knowing that living in the harsh city would be too taxing for them and their only child.
In fact, in February, Marcia accompanied their child to Bohol, knowing that it would be too much for the child to travel later when they would be packed with the few things they have acquired in Manila to Bohol. They have initially planned to haul their things to Bohol by March.
That was also when things started to go awry and mess up their plans.
By mid-March, the number of coronavirus disease (COVID) infected patients in the National Capital Region ballooned, forcing the government to implement drastic measures to contain the disease.
Alejandro, 38, from San Carlos Danao, Bohol was a construction worker in a Manila project that was completed in February.
His wife, Marcia, from Brgy. Baluarte in Buenavista, works as a security guard there until March 15 when she has to resign after they finally decided to settle in Bohol. It was then that they found themselves jobless, stranded in a far-away land and forced to use up the few savings they would have used to ship their things to Bohol. "Lisud, mangita ka og pagkaon, pero gamay ra ang imong kwarta (It was tough looking for food and all you have is little money," says Alejandro as he sat in the holding area of the Port of Tagbilaran.
Alejandro and Marcia were among the 41 locally stranded individuals (LSI) and thousands of people who have responded to the call of the government to go back to the provinces, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic, where it is much safer there.
"Nangapply mi sa Balik Probinsya Sir (We applied for the Balik Probinsya)," Alejandro shares, knowing that government programs like this have assistance packages and starter sets of livelihood.
Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa is a government program that aims to provide hope for a better future to Filipinos through equity in resources throughout the country that will boost countryside development. The program is geared towards addressing Metro Manila’s congested urban areas by encouraging people, especially informal settlers, to return to their home provinces and assist them in this transition with support and incentives on transportation, family, livelihood, housing, subsistence and education, among others.
The Suello couple also know that it would take them a long time to avail of the program considering the number of people who would want to be facilitated to resettle in their home provinces. As they wait for the results of their application to the program, the couple who were renting a room in Manila, had to use up their savings for their stay, compounded by the momentary disruptions in work.
It was also in these times that they forged their resolve to make a new life in Bohol, seeing that their growing kid will have a better chance in Bohol than in the urban jungle where everything has a price.Both working hard to stay alive despite the strict home quarantine orders, Alejandro and Marcia used the time they had in bagging their things. But as the quarantine stretched, their cash slowly drained too.
And then one day, there was a call.
"Gitawagan mi sa taga goberno Sir, gipangutana mi kon interesado ba mi nga moapil sa Tulong Hatid Program. Syempre, kauli-on na kaayo mi mao nga wala gyud namo palabya ang kahigayonan (Somebody from the government called us, asking if we were interested in the Tulong Hatid Program. Naturally, we signed up because we were really going home finally," Alejandro shares.
An initiative of the Office of the President and administered by the Presidential Management Staff through Executive Director Joseph Encabo, the program is a government initiative to provide transportation to those stranded in Metro Manila due to lockdowns and travel restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
All those who were in the program had to undergo the preventive measures to avoid local transmission of the disease by placing all LSIs under a rapid antibody diagnostic testing for COVID-19 before they boarded the buses or boats to ensure that stringent health protocols to halt the spread of the dreaded disease are followed.
"Wala mi maglangan, miadto mi dayon sa Quirino Grandstand didtoy daghang tawo, mipila mi pagkabuntag, ug gani wala mi magdahum nga makasakay dayun sa available nga barko para sa Visayas (We wasted no time and joined the huge crowd at Quirino Grandstand. We never expected to get free slots in the boat that was leaving for the Visayas," Alejandro adds.
On July 4 and 5, thounsads of LSIs boarded the buses or boats to Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao during the send-off ceremony at the Quirino Grandstand.
For the Suellos, the long wait for the Balik Probinsya has kept them from hoping much as they never expected to get the slots. And then they received the slots for free transportation and accommodation costs on the government boat, plus an allowance of P2,000 each. Along with 39 more Boholano LSIs, the couple boarded the Department of Agriculture Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) Multi-Mission Offshore Vessel 5501 BRP Lapulapu which was to sail to Bohol.
The boat left Pier 15 in Manila North Harbor on July 6 at 5:00 a.m. and had to do a refueling stopover in San Carlos City in Negros before getting to Tagbilaran Port on July 8 at 5:00 a.m.
"Nagpasalamat ko og dako sa Tulong Hatid Program kay wa damha nga makaabot ko ug akong asawa sa Bohol nga wala’y bisa’g gamay nga gasto, unya may pabawon pa nga cash (I would like to thank the Tulong Hatid Program, I never thought me and my wife could get to Bohol for free, and still get a cash allowance)," says Alejandro.
"Mi-apply mi sa Balik Probinsya Program apan gitawgan mi sa Tulong Hatid kon interesado ba ‘mi nga mosakay sa programa. Wala jud mi bisag gamay nga gigasto sa akong asawa nga miabot mi dinhi sa Bohol, salamat sa Ginoo ug salamat sa Tulong Hatid (We applied for Balik Probinsya Program but Tulong Hatid called us asking if we were joining the program. Me and my wife did not spend a cent until we arrived here, thank God and thanks to Tulong Hatid," Alejandro adds as he and his wife, along with a few other LSIs, were at the pier holding facility waiting for their LGU transport vehicles that would get them to an LGU-run quarantine facility where they will stay for the next 14 days.
"Nia na jud mi, bahala nag magquarantine, basta kay nia na sa Bohol, dili na kayo kuyaw (We are finally here. It doesn't matter if we have to undergo the quarantine as long as we now here in Bohol. It's safer for us here)," he says.
If they can pass the quarantine without any symptoms of COVID-19 infection, then it would be the time for the couple to finally rejoin their child and be a family again, hopeful for a new and better life in Bohol. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)
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