Your Excellency Margaritto Teves, Secretary of Finance and Chair of the Special National Public Reconstruction Commission,
Honorable Mr. Manuel Pangilinan,
Chair of the Private Sector Reconstruction Commission,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of the Government of Japan, let me start with expressing our deepest condolences and sympathy to all the people who have lost their lives as well as to those who have been affected by the recent typhoons. We sincerely wish for an early recovery and reconstruction from damages.
Once a natural disaster occurs, it undermines the fruit of development accumulated over many years and hinder the achievement of sustainable development. For this reason, Japan has put in so much effort at supporting Asian countries in the field of disaster prevention.
In the wake of Tropical Storm Ondoy, Japan has extended its emergency humanitarian assistance including emergency relief items through JICA, a substantial amount of food aid amounting to 4.5 million US dollars through the World Food Program, as well as assistance in relief activities of a number of NGOs.
Japan will continue its support through the maximum use of its existing and new resources.
We understand recovery efforts at an early stage need quick disbursement of a substantial amount of finance.
In this light, I am pleased to announce today that the Government of Japan hereby pledges a yen loan package amounting to 250 million US dollars equivalent, which is composed of 100 million US dollars equivalent for Development Policy Support Program III , or DPSP III and 150 million US dollars equivalent for emergency budget support. On top of that, responding to the results of the PDNA, a JICA Fact Finding Mission will be dispatched to the Philippines from tomorrow, December 3.
I am also glad to refer to the recently concluded two other yen loan projects, which will make available to the Development Bank of the Philippines as well as the Land Bank of the Philippines approximately 45 billion yen of funds combined, equivalent of approximately 518 million US dollars, for developing logistics infrastructure and assisting agriculture credits. The loan agreements were just signed last week so that the funds will soon be available.
We are concerned about a great number of farmers who were severely hit by Typhoon Pepeng. On top of assisting the agriculture credit, Japan supports in distributing fertilizers to low income farmers with the coordination of Department of Agriculture. Tomorrow, I will visit Subic Port to turn over 13.5 thousand metric tons of fertilizers. The destinations of these fertilizers have been recently changed to the typhoon affected areas in Northern and Central Luzon . The fertilizers to be turned over cover approximately half of the entire program for FY 2009, which amounts to 480 million yen of grant, equivalent of approximately 5.5 million US dollars.
Various pieces of infrastructure also need to be addressed. In addition to the assistance to logistics infrastructure which I just mentioned, Japan is assisting infrastructure development for flood control. More specifically, the JICA project for the improvement of Pasig-Marikina River, amounting approximately 8.5 billion yen, equivalent of approximately 98 million US dollars, is now moving into a full scale construction phase in the downstream areas after the completion of necessary preparations. JICA is also conducting a study to consider the future enhancement of flood control capacities in the Philippines.
As we have seen, natural disasters tend to destroy the achievements of long-term development process. Therefore, Japan has attached importance to cooperation in the field of disaster prevention. In order to avoid or minimize damages from future disasters, enhancing capacities for forecasting and early warning will be extremely important.
While expecting the Philippine Government's own efforts, Japan will assist the Philippines in the following programs.
First, Japan has decided to extend 3.35 billion yen of grant, equivalent of approximately 39 million US dollars, for enhancing the typhoon monitoring capability of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) by such measures as the installment of Doppler Radars.
Second, Japan will extend 376 million yen of grant, equivalent of approximately 4.3 million US dollars, for improving flood forecasting and warning systems in the Agno River Basins in Central Luzon.
Third, Japan will provide technical assistance for strengthening the flood forecasting and warning system for dam operations. The assistance has just started in collaboration with PAGASA, NIA, and NPC covering six major dams in the Pampanga, Agno, and Kagayan Basins. The project will continue for the next three years until 2012.
Mr. Chairman,
As you are aware, like the Philippines, Japan is also a country prone to natural disasters, including earthquakes and typhoons, and, thus, the Japanese people understand the difficulties that the Filipino victims are facing.
In closing, therefore, I would like to reiterate that the Government of Japan as well as the people of Japan will stand ready by the Philippines as its close neighbor as well as its strategic and economic partner. (END)
(Note) Exchange rate: 1USD=86.88JPY (as of December 1st, 2009)
Embassy of Japan in the Philippines