The Philippine government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed a 30-billion-yen loan agreement in Tokyo last Monday for the Post Disaster Stand-by Loan (PDSL) Phase 3 that seeks to promote quick recovery and strengthen preparedness in times of disasters.
In a statement, the Department of Finance (DOF) said the loan aims to support swift recovery after natural disasters by promoting policy actions on disaster risk reduction management and strengthening disaster preparedness by providing quick-disbursing budget support.
Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno signed on behalf of the Philippines while JICA was represented by senior vice president Nakazawa Keiichiro.
“JICA continues to support the Philippines in its disaster risk reduction and management efforts, and the PDSL will help boost resilience in times of disasters. We are living in the same disaster-prone countries, and we can support each other as close partners,” Sakamoto Takema, JICA chief representative, said in a separate statement.
“The ties between Japan and the Philippines will remain stronger than brothers, especially in times of need,” he added.
Japan is the country’s largest official development assistance (ODA) provider of loan and grant commitments, amounting to around $12.92 billion, or about 40.5 percent of the country’s total ODA portfolio.
JICA is currently supporting the implementation of 28 ongoing loans with the Philippine government.
Diokno said the Philippines will continue to secure concessional terms and conditions through JICA’s Special Terms for Economic Partnership, which increases the visibility of Japanese ODA in recipient countries through best use of advanced technologies and know-how of Japanese firms.
Meanwhile, Diokno also led the Philippine delegation during the 14th Philippines-Japan High-Level Joint Committee Meeting on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation with Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Japan Mori Masafumi on August 28 in Tokyo.
“Through the years, the Philippines and Japan have enjoyed deep bilateral ties, strengthened by the Japanese Government’s steadfast commitment and continued support to the Philippines’ development agenda,” Diokno said.
The meeting allowed both countries to review the key accomplishments of its bilateral cooperation after the 13th Philippines-Japan High-Level Joint Committee Meeting in Manila last November 4, 2022.
Achievements in infrastructure development, regional development, agriculture, information and communications technology, energy and environment, maritime safety, disaster risk management, development in Mindanao, as well as the facilitation of public-private partnership opportunities between the Philippines and Japan were discussed during the meeting.
The meeting also allowed the Japanese government to gather insights in terms of determining the assistance needs of the Philippines in pursuit of upper middle-income country (UMIC) status.
“We are grateful for Prime Minister Kishida’s commitment to support the Philippines’ pursuit of the upper middle-income country status through impactful ODA and private-sector investments,” Diokno said.
Both countries then discussed available financing options once the Philippines enters UMIC status by 2025. These include new frameworks such as the “private capital mobilization-type” grant that attracts investment and the “offer-type” that proposes a menu of cooperation that takes advantage of Japan’s strengths.
