Sometime last year I have posted about homeless people here in the metropolis, and I was entertaining the thought that maybe they have come from the provinces to seek the so called "greener pasture" here and failed. It breaks my heart, especially if they have children with them, when I see them and it's raining hard. With the countless letters and emails I have sent to seek help for them, none of the correspondents have bothered to even acknowledge receipt. I myself don't have much to help them.
Today, as I checked the online issue of my favorite daily, I was delighted to see an article (see here) about a province in the south offering a back-to-province scheme. Eastern Samar provincial government have come up with the program recognizing the need for this after so many people were devastated by the flooding in the capital region. The program not only includes bringing them home for free, but likewise training for livelihood, counseling, and even a reasonable enough sum to jumpstart their lives. This province's government should be lauded for this program, and other provinces should follow this same scheme.
Metropolitan Manila is populated by some 12 million people crowding in places close to where their livelihood is. The recent floods have been partly blamed to overpopulation and to the fact that dwellings have encroached the areas considered as natural drainage systems. These waterways are in the form of creeks and a few rivers that serve as a drainage system for floods during monsoon season. Having people close to this have turned these waterways into dumping area for their wastes, which causes clogging and siltation-- a major cause for waters breaking their banks or dikes during rainy season.
Flocking to capital cities is understandable, especially in a third world country like the Philippines. The biggest chunk of job opportunities are available mostly to these areas that are considered as hubs. For whatever reason not everyone succeeds in the city. While some simply just try to hold on to the promise of the "greener pasture" and find other ways for living, others have lost hope altogether and are left without the capacity to return home to their provinces. It is not only the cost of the travel that makes it so hard for repatriation, but also the fact of starting all over again in a place where most likely there is lesser opportunity for them.
The program created by Eastern Samar, although seemingly simple, can be a bit complicated and costly. Beforehand, things to be considered for this to be a success are identification of suitable livelihood trainings to be given, studies on sustainability of these in the long run, and selection of qualified people to conduct these trainings. These areas have to be addressed first, otherwise such a program can fail and may only end up with the beneficiaries returning back to the capital region. I joked a colleague of mine from Eastern Samar that politicians in their province are just doing this to take in potential voters in the elections next year. But this is a really noble program deserving all accolades.
