Coronavirus sent many urban Filipinos heading home to the hinterlands

Sammy Westfall reports for the New York Times from Leyte, the Philippines under the headline, "Rural Philippines, Long Neglected, Newly Appealing in Covid Times."  The subhead is:  "The economic disparity of the nation’s rural and urban areas is a problem of long standing. Will the lessons of the pandemic finally lead to change?" 

An excerpt follows, featuring the story of 50-year-old Marlen Zilmar:  

Since the 1970s, the era of Ferdinand E. Marcos’s dictatorship, every Philippine leader has encouraged rural development, in an attempt to alleviate overcrowding in Metro Manila, the dense patchwork of 16 cities that make up the Philippines’ urban core. His son, Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., known as Bongbong, recently elected as the nation’s next president, echoed a similar theme in his campaign, invoking his father’s legacy.

Despite the many government efforts, the percentage of urban dwellers has generally risen as the nation has grown. Less than a third of the population was urban in 1970; 47 percent live in urban areas today. Metro Manila had less than four million residents in 1970; it has over 13 million today.

Despite the many government efforts, the percentage of urban dwellers has generally risen as the nation has grown. Less than a third of the population was urban in 1970; 47 percent live in urban areas today. Metro Manila had less than four million residents in 1970; it has over 13 million today.

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Over the decades, the government had devised programs to encourage people, especially informal settlers, to move to rural areas. Ms. Zilmar nabbed a slot in a pilot phase of the latest version, introduced after Covid-19 took hold and signed into law in May 2020 by President Rodrigo Duterte.

Participants in the program, titled “Return to the Province, New Hope,” got start-up cash, livelihood training, relocation assistance and subsidies, and a one-way bus or plane ticket as part of the project’s resettlement effort. Ms. Zilmar also got some seeds; others received a pair of piglets.

A recent Wall Street Journal story on this pandemic trend of migration to rural places, with a focus on older folks/retirees, is here.