Japan pledges assistance for Subic Bay master plan

Japan has pledged to extend technical assistance for the development of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone and its surrounding areas, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).

In a statement, the DOF said Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has conveyed Japan’s commitment to provide assistance in crafting a master plan for the regional development of Subic Bay.

This happened during their bilateral meeting on Monday on the sidelines of the 35th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Bangkok, Thailand.

“The two leaders affirmed that the Japanese assistance is a testament to the deepening strategic partnership between Japan and the Philippines,” the DOF said.

According to the DOF, the proposed master plan would outline possible projects in Subic Bay and its surrounding areas, particularly in the fields of road network development, logistics terminal development, disaster risk management and other public utilities development.

Japan remains to be the top provider of official development assistance (ODA) loans and grants to the Philippines, totaling $8.26 billion as of December 2018. This accounts for 46 percent of the country’s total ODA loan portfolio.

Since 2016, the DOF said Manila and Tokyo have signed 10 loan agreements, which provide Japanese funding support for big-ticket infrastructure projects under the Duterte administration’s Build Build Build program. (Mary Grace Padin, Philippine Star)

PHOTO:

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.


https://www.philstar.com/business/2019/11/08/1966831/japan-pledges-assistance-subic-bay-master-plan

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Japan to provide firetrucks, ambulances for cyclone-hit areas in PHL

Japan is providing firetrucks and ambulances to cyclone-affected areas in the Philippines, including those hit by super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) last year.

Officials of the Philippines and Japan signed a grant contract for "The Project for Providing Emergency Vehicles for the Typhoon-Affected Areas in the Philippines" Thursday.

The Japanese embassy said 20 vehicles – 17 firetrucks and three ambulances – for areas damaged by Yolanda are to arrive at the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority in early November.

Signing the agreement were Japan chargés d'affaires to the Philippines Tetsuro Amano and Bureau of Fire Protection head Chief Superintendent Carlito Romero.

The grant involves $202,760 (P8.5 million) and is funded through the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP).

Last May 5, the project was initially announced when a delegation led by Japan-Philippines Parliamentarians' Friendship League president Kenji Kosaka met with Senate President Franklin Drilon, President of Philippines-Japan Parliamentary Association (PJPA) in Manila.

"It is part of Japan's additional donation to the Philippines of previously-used 20 emergency vehicles (17 firetrucks and three ambulances) intended primarily for the municipalities seriously damaged by Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan in Central Visayas," the Japanese embassy said.

The Japanese government, the top Official Development Assistance donor for the Philippines, launched the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects in the Philippines in 1989 to reduce poverty and help communities engaged in grassroots activities.

At least 499 grassroots projects have been funded by GGP.

"Japan believes that this project will not only strengthen the friendship between the peoples of Japan and the Philippines but also contribute to further fostering a strategic partnership between Japan and the Philippines toward the future," the embassy said. (Joel Locsin /LBG, GMA News)

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/384147/news/nation/japan-to-provide-firetrucks-ambulances-for-cyclone-hit-areas-in-phl

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