Honorable Undersecretary Narcisco B . Nieto
Department of Agrarian Reform
Honorable Governor Bellaflor Angara-Castillo
Province of Aurora
Honorable Mayor Ariel S. Bitong
Municipality of Maria Aurora
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning to you all.
It is my distinct honor and pleasure to join you all today and represent the Government of Japan at this groundbreaking ceremony of the Bazal Bridge.
Japan is committed to supporting the Philippines' nation building efforts, along the lines of the Philippine Government's Medium Term Development and Investment Plan. More specifically, we support the development goals of the Philippine Government's Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). We have supported CARP as a mechanism to alleviate farmers' struggles by assisting projects aimed at strengthening infrastructure improvement and socio-economic development in rural areas for many decades. One major project we have assisted under the CARP through the Yen Loan scheme is the Agrarian Reform Infrastructure Support Project Three (ARISPIII), which has empowered farmer beneficiaries in around 130 agrarian reform communities (ARCs) nationwide.
This project for the construction of the Bazal bridge, which costs approximately 610 Million Japanese Yen or 321 Million Philippine Pesos at the current exchange rate , is funded under Japan's General Grant Aid Program as a support service to supplement the unmet needs of agrarian reform beneficiaries who are not covered by the components of the ARISP III program. The project aims to improve access between the target ARCs with other expanded communities. It also envisions generating additional income for farmer beneficiaries, improving the mobility of farm products and commercial goods as well as upgrading the socio-economic and environmental conditions in the area. The bridge will be 110-meters long and will connect Barangays Bazal and Malasin. After approximately 17 months of construction work, the local residents living in the surrounding barangays, including 2,000 residents in Bazal area, will have improved access to other ARCs, especially the students and staff of the Aurora State College of Technology Bazal Campus who will directly benefit from the bridge construction.
I also believe that once the bridge is completed, the communities within the municipality of Maria Aurora including the surrounding municipalities will substantially benefit especially during heavy rains and typhoon months when some communities become isolated. I am confident that this infrastructure will strengthen and improve self-sufficiency as well as spur economic development in this province.
In closing, I hope that the Bazal Bridge will contribute to the development of Aurora province and this bridge will actually symbolize the bridge of the longstanding friendship and cooperation between the Philippines and Japan.
Maraming salamat po at mabuhay tayong lahat! (Thank you and cheers to us all!)
Embassy of Japan in the Philippines