Japanese Ambassador Makoto Katsura turned over the relief assistance to the recipients displaced by the armed conflict in Mindanao . The Ambassador was assisted by (from left) Datu Piang Mayor Hadji Samer Uy, President of Muslim Youth Religious Organization, Inc.(MYRO) Johnny Balawag, ARMM DSWD Assistance Secretary Hajda Pombaen Karon-Kader .
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Japan marked another milestone in its peace-building efforts in Mindanao as it reached out to thousands of families displaced by the armed conflict in Maguindanao.
In the ceremony in Maguindanao on February 5, 2009 , Japanese Ambassador Makoto Katsura led the turnover of the relief assistance package for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). The grant of US$81, 58 3 provided relief assistance for some 3,000 families (15,000 persons) who fled their houses since the armed conflict escalated in Maguindanao in August 2008 and have since been forced to stay in various evacuation centers in the Municipalities of Datu Piang and Datu Saudi Ampatuan. The Muslim Youth Religious Organization, Inc. (MYRO) will oversee the distribution of the assistance package which includes mats, blankets, mosquito nets, jerry cans (water containers), and tent plastic sheets.
This project has been implemented under the Japan-Bangsamoro Initiatives for Reconstruction and Development, or J-BIRD. The Government of Japan launched J-BIRD in December 2006 as part of its commitment to support peace and development efforts in Mindanao . Based on the J-BIRD, schools, training centers, water systems and roads have been rehabilitated and constructed through the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects. These projects amount to 1.6 Million US Dollars or about 60 Million Pesos.
Earlier Japan already signified its assistance to IDPs in a substantially larger scale, with the signing of the Grant Agreement to assist Internally Displaced Persons in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao. The grant aims to provide emergency food aid amounting to 860 Million Yen (approximately 9.5 Million US Dollars) or equivalent 7,500 Metric tons of rice, through the United Nation's World Food Programme (WFP).
Speech of Ambassador Makoto Katsura
Japanese Version
