Japan Funding 8 Dev’t Projects

From the Manila Bulletin (Mar 21): Japan Funding 8 Dev’t Projects

COTABATO CITY — Japan has lined up eight fresh grant projects for conflict-affected areas in Southern Philippines in addition to existing Tokyo-funded programs supportive of the Mindanao peace process, the Japanese Embassy in Manila announced yesterday.

Ambassador Toshinao Urabe signed the eight grant contracts with officials of recipient organizations at a symbolic ceremony Tuesday morning in Pasig City, his embassy’s information and cultural office said in a press statement.

The signed contracts covered projects funded under the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) through the Embassy as part of the Japan-Bangsamoro Initiatives for Reconstruction and Development (J-BIRD).

The signing rite was witnessed by major Mindanao peace process stakeholders like Presidential Adviser on Peace Process Secretary Teresita “Ging” Quintos-Deles, Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA) executive director Mohammad Shuaib Yacob, and Chair of Government Peace Negotiating Panel for Talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (GPH-MILF) Miriam Coronel-Ferrer.

Ambassador Urabe’s signing of the contracts came four days after his visit here and in parts of Central Mindanao where he inspected existing Japan-funded projects after meeting MILF Chair Al-Haj Murad Ebrahim in Camp Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao.

The new assistance worth US$885,204.00, or about P36 million, is “part of Japan’s commitment to peace and development efforts in Mindanao,” the statement said.

The package includes the construction of three school buildings; a post-harvest facility with agricultural equipment; an agricultural training center; a training center; a shelter home for women and children, and a hospital.

Since its launching in 2006, the J-BIRD has already supported 66 grassroots projects in Mindanao costing $5.5 million or about P285 million, the Japan embassy said.

Japan has two senior advisors to the International Monitoring Team (IMT) assisting reconstruction and development interventions in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao.

It is a member of the International Contact Group (ICG), which helps guide the concerned parties in the Mindanao Peace Process and sits as observer in peace talks.

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