The Philippines and Japan marked their 11th high-level meeting with the completion this month of the latter’s commitment of one trillion yen, or around P460 billion, in assistance for the administration’s Build, Build, Build program and its other priority initiatives, the Department of Finance (DOF) said yesterday.
Hiroto Izumi, special advisor to the Japan prime minister, who led the Japanese side in the virtual high-level meeting on infrastructure development and economic cooperation last Wednesday said Japan is planning to expand its assistance to the Philippines beyond its 2017 commitment of one trillion yen.
Shinzo Abe, former Japan prime minister, committed to extend one trillion yen in financing to the Philippines from 2017 to 2022. This commitment was fulfilled under the current administration of Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, the DOF said.
Carlos Dominguez, DOF secretary, noted the most recent signing on July 27 of the Exchange of Notes for the P253.31 billion second tranche loan for the first 1st phase of the Metro Manila Subway Project.
“What better way to spend this momentous occasion than by fulfilling the one trillion yen commitment to the Philippines by the government of Japan during the Duterte administration from 2017 to 2022, covering both ODA (official development assistance) and private sector financing,” Dominguez said.
Izumi, for his part, said, “Japan, led by Prime Minister Suga, has continued to give us his support to Build, Build, Build and the Mindanao peace process,” which underscores the comprehensive and deepening cooperation between the two countries.
A significant portion of the one trillion yen commitment to the Philippines provided funding support for the big-ticket projects of the Build, Build, Build program, such as the Metro Manila Subway, North-South Commuter Railway, Metro Rail Transit-3 Rehabilitation, Metro Manila Priority Bridges Seismic Improvement, Davao City Bypass Construction Project, Cebu-Mactan Bridge (4th bridge) and Coastal Road Construction Project, and the Parañaque Spillway, among others.
Japan has also assisted the Philippine government in developing the Subic Bay Regional Development Master Plan, with the final report on the study having been completed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency within schedule despite the logistical challenges posed by the pandemic, the DOF said.
The report was handed over to Dominguez by Japanese ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhiko Koshikawa on July 27.
