A total of five families consisting of 18 individuals hold on to their dream of a fresh start in life as they go back to their home provinces in Catanduanes and Sorsogon in the Bicol region through the national government’s Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa Program (BP2).

On Thursday, these families left Metro Manila with their baggage of experiences and lessons they learned from living in the country’s congested capital region.

Senator Bong Go in his video message wished the beneficiaries good luck as they embark on a new chapter in their life.

“This successful dispatch and the entire BP2 program form part of the national government strategy to encourage countryside development and provide hope for a better future. Good luck to our kababayans as they journey back to their home provinces,” Go said in his video message.

For the month of March, the BP2 program was able to send back a total of 154 individuals to their respective provinces.

Among the provinces that welcomed back their residents include Zambales, Albay, Camarines Norte, Naga City, Camarines Sur, Masbate, Northern Samar, Cotabato, General Santos City, Sarangani, South Cotabato, and Sultan Kudarat.

The BP2 on their Facebook page wished these beneficiaries well.

“Hangad ng BP2 na makapagsimula ng bagong buhay sa probinsya ang mga benepisyaryo. Makakatanggap sila ng iba’t ibang porma ng assistance mula sa magkakaibang ahensya ng gobyerno (BP2 wishes the beneficiaries to start a new life in the province. They will receive various forms of assistance from different government agencies),” the post read.

Among the agencies that provide assistance to the BP2 beneficiaries include the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Education (DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and the National Housing Authority (NHA),

Other agencies that give livelihood assistance and training are the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Agriculture (DA), Mindanao Development Authority, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

The benefits given to a BP2 beneficiary depend on the assessment and recommendation of a social worker based on interviews and the documents submitted by the applicant. (PNA)