THE Provincial Government of Pampanga had suspended the "Balik Pinas, Balik Pampanga" program for overseas Filipinos coming from 27 flagged countries in a bid to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus strain in the country.

The Capitol will not be entertaining requests for the ferry, swab tests and handling of quarantine for the Kapampangans who have stayed in the 27 flagged countries. This is in line with the memorandum from the One Stop Shop (OSS) for Management of Returning Overseas Filipinos issued on January 8.

The OSS will temporarily handle Kapampangans who will be coming in from said countries. The 27 flagged countries include the United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan, Australia, Israel, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Switzerland, France, Spain, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Lebanon, Singapore, Sweden, South Korea, South Africa, Denmark, Canada, Brazil, Portugal, United States, India, Finland, Norway and Jordan.

As for Kapampangans coming in from other countries, not in the said list, the Capitol will continue processing their quarantine, swab and return needs.

Some 2,551 Kapampangans have already benefitted from the program and some 2,477 overseas workers have since returned to their families safely and coronavirus-free.

The "Balik Pinas, Balik Pampanga" program fast-tracks the processing of repatriated Kapampangan overseas Filipino workers, including non-working individuals, to their families after months of being stranded across the globe.