By Armando Fenequito Jr. DAVAO CITY –Authorities here broke ground for the first Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-Asa (BP2) model village for returning informal urban dwellers in Mindanao located in Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte. Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said the area located in Barangay Tacub will have 50 units of Quadruplex housing to accommodate 200 families who will be involved in the production of organic chicken and vegetables. "This program in Kauswagan is the first and the model for the whole country. BP2 will be the start of the equitable sharing of the national wealth, shifting the focus of economic priorities from urban centers to the countryside," he said. Piñol said he selected Kauswagan as a model community of BP2 due to the sound and transparent governance of the present administration which is important to make the program successful. "BP2 is a challenge to Kauswagan but it is never a burden to help our fellow men. We dream that BP2 will be the key for the upliftment of Filipino lives, the key to food security and sustainable development," he said. The Project Management Office (PMO) for the Kauswagan Organic Balik Probinsya Village signed a marketing agreement with the Eng Seng Foods Corporation, a Mindanao private agri-trading company. Piñol said Eng Seng Food Products will buy and market the organic chicken and vegetable production of the village. "The private sector support for the project was actually started by a Kauswagan-based GN Power Kauswagan (GNPK), which donated P10 million. The fund was used in acquiring the 6.8-hectare property and the construction of the first model quadruplex unit," he said. Piñol assured that all member agencies of the BP2 Council will contribute to the village's development. "BP2 will be our strategy to maximize our own resources to boost our industries that will provide jobs and economic development to the local community," he said.