BALIK PROBINSYA. The Atacador family is assisted by a Balik Probinsya Probinsya Bagong Pag-asa Program staff at the BP2 depot in Agham Road in Quezon City on Tuesday (March 15, 2022). Nine families consisting of 37 individuals left the depot for Masbate on Tuesday morning. (PNA photo by Robert Oswald Alfiler)
MANILA – A couple has decided to grab the opportunity offered by the Balik Probinsya Bagong Pag-asa (BP2) Program to go back to their home province of Masbate because they believe doing so would improve the health of their children suffering from severe asthma.
Florentino Atacador, 39, and Roselyn Tolentino, 40, said their children's health comes first.
“Kasi sabi ko baka sa probinsya kasi dito puro pollution di ba, ang daming nagsabi na iuwi nyo na lang sa probinsya yan kasi gagaling sila pag nandun, kasi dito lahat, pag puro chemicals eh dun sa probinsya sariwa wala silang malalanghap na ganito (I said maybe it's better in the province because it is very polluted here. Many are telling us to just bring the children home to the province so they could get well because here almost everything has chemicals. In the province, the air is fresh. They won’t inhale them),” Tolentino said.
She said all their three children aged 4 and 3 years old, and 8 months old all suffer from asthma and low potassium. They believe that fresh air and fresh food in the province will greatly help in improving their health.
“Lagi pa kaming nasa ospital kasi bumababa yung potassium nila wala namang pagkain wala naman kaming mapag anuhan tapos me hika pa, lahat sila (We are always in the hospital because their potassium level gets low, we don’t have enough food, then they also have asthma, all of them),” she said.
She said she used to sell native delicacies (kakanin) which she cooks herself.
But because of her children's condition, she can no longer cook these delicacies because their kids are sensitive to smoke. Even the fragrant smell from fabric softeners in the newly washed clothes of their neighbors makes their children sick.
As for her husband, he now has been earning less since the coronavirus pandemic 2019 (Covid-19) hit the country.
Atacador who is working as a welder said luckily, he did not lose his job as most people did. However, his earnings have been cut by more than half.
He said his pre-pandemic earnings were about PHP5,000 per week, but have since been reduced to PHP2,000 per week.
With the children getting hospitalized every now and then and his salary reduced, Atacador said he decided to apply for the BP2 program.
“Me narinig kami sa ano, marami daw benepisyo makukuha, sa online lang ako nag ano tapos sa balita sa tv, yun lang , kaya sinubukan kong mag apply, kaso isang taon ding mahigit eh bago na approve (I heard many benefits are being given, I heard from the news in the tv and read them online, so I decided to apply),” he said.
Despite the long wait, Atacador still considered themselves lucky to be chosen as one of the beneficiaries.
He said he heard that many have applied for the program but only a number of them get a call from the BP2 Secretariat.
Upon arriving in Masbate, he said they will temporarily live with his mother.
He added that they also plan to build a small store, raise livestock, and put up a small welding shop.
For now, he said they will just have to make do with what they get from the government's BP2 program.
“Yun naman daw po me mga ibibigay na tulong, sana naman magkatotoo, pangkabuhayan daw. Kahit ano basta mapagkakitaan, okay lang kahit ano (They said that they will give assistance, I hope they are true, for livelihood they said. Any assistance that will help us, it's okay),” Atacador said.
“Pasalamat na lang kami kahit papano nagkaron ng programang ganito kahit sa pag uwi pa lang pahirapan na di ba dati (We are just thankful that somehow there is a program like this that helps us return home because it was difficult to do so before),” he added.
Atacador's family was one of the nine family beneficiaries of the BP2 program for Masbate province.
The BP2 Secretariat confirmed that all 37 beneficiaries going to the Masbate left the depot in Quezon City on Tuesday morning.
The beneficiaries are expected to arrive at Pilar, Sorsogon Port around 9 p.m. and shall board the RORO vessel at midnight going to Masbate Port. (PNA)
