HOME-BOUND. Couple Richie Penalan and Vanessa Pedrosa are interviewed and briefed by a Department of Health staff at the “Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa (BP2)” Program depot along Agham Road, Quezon City on Monday (March 14, 2022). The couple is going home to Masbate with the help of the national government. (PNA photo by Robert Oswald Alfiler)
MANILA – Couple Richie Penalan, 32, and Vanessa Pedrosa, 36, recently lost their jobs and have applied for the “Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa (BP2)” Program to return to Masbate where they can live simpler, "rent-free" lives.
On Monday, they finally got a call from a BP2 Program staff instructing them to proceed immediately to a BP2 depot in Quezon City as they were scheduled to leave Manila the same day.
The couple said more than anything, they are excited to reunite with their three-year-old son, who they had to send back to the province early this year and is currently being taken care of by Penalan’s mother.
Since their trip came as a surprise, Penalan said they were no longer able to inform his mother that they would be coming home this early.
He said his mother knew they had applied for the BP2 program but she has no idea they would be returning sooner than expected.
“Nasabi naman namin sa kaniya na ayun nga na ano namin ngayon, pero di niya alam na ngayon na. Ora-orada yung empake namin eh, kasi akala namin uuwi pa kami, yon pala deretso na (We have mentioned to her that we have a schedule today, but she does not know that we will be processed today. We just immediately packed our bags. We thought that we will still go home tonight but we never expected that we will be staying here so we will be ready for dispatch),” Pedrosa said.
She added between giggles, “Kasi ang inaano namin ano lang orientation lang tapos uwi tapos hintay kung kelan schedule. Gulat ako sundo na. Kaya yung gamit namin naiwan kung ano itsura don sa bahay sabog sabog. Kasi di namin inaasahan na ora orada pala yon pala aalis na pala agad (We thought we will just attend an orientation then we will go home and wait for the schedule. We were surprised that we were fetched. So we just got our things and left the house upside down. We were really not expecting that we will be leaving now).”
Penalan said he is unemployed after his driver’s license expired during the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
Pedrosa, meanwhile, used to work as a factory worker but was retrenched also because of the pandemic.
Both without any steady source of income, Penalan and Pedrosa decided to apply for the BP2 program in August and return to their hometowns.
Penalan applied for a Masbate trip while Pedrosa, a Bicolana, applied for a Camarines Sur trip. The application for Masbate was the first to get approved. In the meantime, Penalan worked part-time at a construction company.
“Kung alin po yung ma ano don, eh nauna po kasi yung inano ko sa kaniya eh. Ok na po yon, kesa nandito po kami hirap na hirap po kasi talaga eh (Whichever comes first, his application came first and that’s okay instead of staying here, life is very difficult here),” Pedrosa said.
“Pag walang trabaho wala kami pang ano sa, pang upa tapos yung pang ano sa anak, pang araw-araw, wala po kasi talaga kami pinagkukuhanan kasi kagaya niyan wala po siyang biyahe, di na po siya nakakabiyahe kasi yung lisensya niya expired na, tapos ako wala rin di rin makapag trabaho (If we do not have work, we do not have money to pay for the house rent, buy our everyday needs, we do not have any source of money, especially that he cannot drive because his license is expired, and I do not have work also),” she added.
With all the difficulties that they went through, the couple stands by their decision to go home to the province and take a shot at new opportunities being offered by the BP2 program.
Also, they get to save on rent and food in the province as they live in their own house and grow their own vegetables.
“Kamoteng kahoy don pwede na (We can make do with cassava),” Penalan said, while Pedrosa added, “Dito bibilhin lahat lahat. Kaya mas maganda na rin po yung ano nasa probinsya nalang talaga (Here, we need to buy everything. It is really better to live in the province).”
Penalan is hoping that he can also have a small boat so he could go fishing which is the staple source of livelihood in their area.
He said he can also raise livestock like pigs and chickens, adding that they will be contented with whatever assistance the government can provide them as long as they will have food on their table.
As for their son, he can freely go out of their house and play with the threat of the pandemic not as high as in highly congested urban areas.
“Pasalamat ako dito sa Balik Probinsya na isa kami sa mga natawagan na makauwi sa probinsya (We are thankful that we are one of those who received the call),” Pedrosa said.
“Yung mga gusto ring umano sa mga probinsya yung nahihirapan na dito sa Maynila wag silang maano na bumalik na lang sa probinsya nila kasi yung Balik Probinsya hindi naman sila papabayaan kumbaga malaking tulong talaga ang Balik Probinsya (Those who want to go back to the province especially those who find life difficult here in Manila, do not hesitate because Balik Probinsya can help. It is really a big help),” she said. (PNA)
