{"id":9875,"date":"2020-06-29T21:20:08","date_gmt":"2020-06-29T13:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/?p=9875"},"modified":"2020-06-29T21:20:10","modified_gmt":"2020-06-29T13:20:10","slug":"hatid-probinsya-and-balik-probinsya-more-harm-than-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/hatid-probinsya-and-balik-probinsya-more-harm-than-good\/","title":{"rendered":"Hatid Probinsya and Balik Probinsya, more harm than good?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The national government\u2019s program of sending people back to\ntheir hometown recently came under fire for spreading COVID-19 in the\nprovinces. For example, Tanauan town and Baybay City in Leyte each recorded\ntheir first respective confirmed COVID-19 cases last May 28. Both confirmed\ncases were among the first and so far only batch of beneficiaries of the Balik\nProbinsya, Bagong Pag-asa<\/em> Program (BP2). Meanwhile, in the war-torn city of\nMarawi, nine confirmed cases are beneficiaries of the Hatid Probinsya<\/em>\nprogram. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

BP2 and Hatid\nProbinsya<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BP2 is a pet project of President Duterte\u2019s long-time\ntrusted aide and now Senator Bong Go. Executive Order 114, which enabled the\nsaid program, came two days after the Senate adopted Go\u2019s resolution urging the\nexecutive department to formulate and implement a Balik Probinsya<\/em> program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

BP2 is a \u201clong-term program of the government intended for\nMetro Manila residents who want to go home to their provinces for good\u201d. It\nreportedly aims to decongest the National Capital Region (NCR) and is mostly\ntargeted at people from urban poor areas. It is also packaged as\n\u201credistributing wealth\u201d by bringing development to the countryside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to BP2\u2019s website, the first batch was composed of\n112 individuals from the province of Leyte. Leyte Governor Dominic Petilla said\nthat most of them are workers who lost their jobs due to the Luzon-wide\nlockdown. BP2 has three phases of intervention, namely short-, medium-, and\nlong-term. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The short-term intervention provides beneficiaries\ntransport, cash assistance of Php15,000, and livelihood opportunities. All\ngovernment programs, activities or projects with funding will be adapted for\nthe program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The medium-term intervention involves projects or programs\nfor implementation after the lockdown and lifting of travel restrictions. This\nincludes establishing new special economic zones in Visayas and Mindanao, among\nothers. The long-term plan includes passing of laws deemed important for rural\ndevelopment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The program\u2019s goals look good on paper but its pretentious\ncharacter is exposed by the absence of concrete plans for strengthening rural\nproduction. Beyond the program\u2019s promises, what work will people going back to\ntheir hometowns really have? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likely not much, because the program\u2019s vision of developing\nthe countryside is still under the framework of neoliberalism which continues\nto destroy the country\u2019s agricultural sector. The special economic zones the\nprogram envisions to build will, if anything, just cater to the needs of\nforeign capital but with scant domestic linkages and contributions to national\ndevelopment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The long-term plan includes the passage of the Duterte\nadministration\u2019s priority bills like the National Land Use Act and giving tax\nincentives to tourism industries \u2013 both have the potential to hasten land\nconversions. Even legislation supposedly giving incentives for agriculture is\nmore inclined to push for more destructive corporate plantations. There is also\nthe self-serving political logic and push for shifting to a federal system through\nCharter change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, Hatid Probinsya is intended to help\nindividuals stranded in Metro Manila by quarantine travel restrictions go back\nto their home provinces. This includes overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). The\nprogram arose after reports of thousands of OFWs stranded for more than a month\nin quarantine facilities. BP2 trips have been temporarily suspended to\nprioritize the Hatid Probinsya program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Infecting the\nprovinces<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the absence of a mass testing program, BP2 and Hatid\nProbinsya are turning out to be additional sources of COVID-19 transmission in\nsome provinces. It is a disaster slowly unfolding especially with the\nhealthcare capacity in rural areas much lower than in NCR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mass testing means testing all suspected cases whether symptomatic\nor asymptomatic, testing all close contacts of positive cases, regular testing\nof all frontline healthcare workers, and testing for surveillance of high-risk\ncommunities or vulnerable populations. Testing is crucial to detect cases,\nisolate carriers, and trace contacts to contain the spread of the virus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Department of Health (DOH) claims that its expanded\nrisk-based testing broadens the coverage of persons to be tested. However,\naccording to the Department Memorandum No. 2020-0285, RT-PCR testing is still\nbased on a prioritization scheme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RT-PCR is the gold standard for COVID-19 testing. In the\nHatid Probinsya program, locally stranded individuals (LSIs) are tested only\nusing the rapid test method. Scientists and medical groups do not recommend relying\nsolely on rapid tests to check if individuals are positive for COVID-19. Their\nresults are not that reliable and hence of very limited use in infection\ncontrol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The country\u2019s current healthcare capacity is also still not\nsuited to respond to pandemics like COVID-19. It is very much privatized and\nuneven between regions; thus access is an issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of June 27, the NCR recorded 17,450 total confirmed\nCOVID-19 cases surpassing scientists\u2019 projection of 16,500 cases by the end of\nJune. As of June 26, the region has 2,487 isolation beds, 1,071 ward beds, 569\nICU beds and 879 ventilators dedicated to COVID-19. The 10 doctors per 10,000\npopulation and 12 nurses per 10,000 population in the region generally meets\nWorld Health Organization standards (10:10,000 for doctors and nurses).\nHowever, there are much fewer physicians and nurses in regions outside Metro\nManila. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to DOH Region 8, there are 499 total confirmed\ncases of COVID-19 in Eastern Visayas, of which 68% or 341 cases are returning\nresidents, as of June 27. Of these returning residents, 293 are LSIs, 45 are\nOFWs, and three are BP2 beneficiaries. Leyte, which accounts for 40% of the\ncases in Region 8, is the destination of most of the returning residents who\ntested positive with COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim\nMindanao (BARMM), there are 58 confirmed cases, with the province of Lanao del\nSur having the highest number of cases at 35. This includes the nine returning\nresidents confirmed to be COVID-19 positive in Marawi City. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eastern Visayas has only two COVID-19 testing centers, both\nare located in Tacloban City. Of the two, one is a private testing center and\nthe other one, the Eastern Visayas Regional COVID-19 Testing Center, is a public facility. BARMM, on the other hand, has\nonly one testing center, the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center, located in\nCotabato City, Maguindanao.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The majority of licensed COVID-19 testing centers in the\ncountry are in the NCR, accounting for 29 of the 67 total centers. This could\nbe a factor why Metro Manila is the top region with total number of\ncases\u2014higher testing capacity results in more cases detected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of facilities, the province of Leyte only has nine\nICU beds, 203 isolation beds, 50 ward beds, and 10 mechanical ventilators\ndedicated to COVID-19 cases, as of June 26. Data from the 2018 Field Health\nService Information System (FHSIS) shows that there are only 57 medical doctors\nin Leyte, including 7 doctors in Ormoc City, 4 doctors in Tacloban City, and\n117 public health nurses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quarantine facilities in Region 8 are currently running on\nfull capacity prompting the Regional Task Force 8 and local government units to\nrequest for a 14-day moratorium on the national government\u2019s Hatid Probinsya\nprogram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lanao del Sur meanwhile reported 3 ICU beds, 30 isolation\nbeds, one ward bed, and four mechanical ventilators exclusive for COVID-19\ncases. There are only 31 medical doctors and 16 public health nurses. In the\ncity of Marawi there are only 2 doctors and 2 nurses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the whole region of BARMM, the doctor and nurse ratio per\n10,000 population are 0.8 and 3.8 respectively. For Region 8 the ratios are 2.5\ndoctors per 10,000 population and 6.6 nurses per 10,000 population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The increase of confirmed cases in Leyte is disproportionately\naffecting healthcare workers. On June 16, of the 59 new cases reported in\nRegion 8, 22 are hospital workers. Of the 59 new cases, 52 are from Leyte. As\nof June 27, there are already 94 healthcare workers infected with COVID-19 in\nthe region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ill-conceived plan\nand self-serving agenda<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hatid Probinsya and Balik Probinsya programs are proof\nof government\u2019s ill-conceived COVID-19 response. The less able rural areas are\nnow bearing the brunt of the lack of a cohesive response plan that addresses\nthe gross socioeconomic and healthcare incapacity of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government failed to maximize the three months of\nlockdown to start the mass testing, tracing of all contacts of positive cases,\nand isolation and quarantine needed to contain the spread of the virus. It also\ndid not increase the health system\u2019s capacity to treat all COVID-19 cases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of focusing on boosting the country\u2019s healthcare\ncapacity, the government apparently even used the pandemic to boost the\npolitical career of Palace favorites and to push for more neoliberal and\nauthoritarian policies. Injecting a self-serving political agenda undermines\nthe competent health response so needed by the people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The administration\u2019s prescriptions and practice to deal with the health crisis are not working. This only makes the call for an alternative approach that contains the virus and cures patients, instead of compromising them, even more urgent.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the absence of a mass testing program, Balik Probinsya and Hatid Probinsya are turning out to be additional sources of COVID-19 transmission in some provinces. It is a disaster slowly unfolding especially with the healthcare capacity in rural areas much lower than in the NCR.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":9877,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-withbanner.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_expiration-date-status":"saved","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[]},"categories":[2048,3],"tags":[2297,2299,2199,2218,347,2298,555],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9875"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9875"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9876,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9875\/revisions\/9876"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}