Japanese Ambassador Makoto Katsura (4th from the left) turned over 50 housing units for the typhoon victims in the Provinces of Maguindanao and Shariff Kabunsuan. The ceremony was attended by (from left) Senior Adviser on Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Development and First Secretary Tomonori Kikuchi, Talayan Mayor Datu Ali Midtimbang, ARMM DSWD Assistance Secretary Hajda Pombaen Karon-Kader, and the represent ives of Mindanao Tulong Bakwet, Inc. ( MTB ).
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Japan marked another milestone in its peace-building efforts in Mindanao as it reached out to people affected by Typhoon Frank in Maguindanao.
In the ceremony in Maguindanao on February 5, 2009 , Japanese Ambassador Makoto Katsura led the turnover of 50 housing units for the typhoon victims. In partnership with the Mindanao Tulong Bakwet, Inc. (MTB), Japan 's grant of US$81,954 constructed 30 housing units in Barangay Tambunan, Talayan, Maguindanao, and another 20 houses in Barangay Limbo, Sultan Kudarat, Shariff Kabunsuan. These areas were among those hardest hit by Typhoon Frank in June 2008. The project aimed to help rebuild the lives of the affected families, whose houses and properties were totally damaged by flashfloods.
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
