Turnover of Japan-funded Lawaan Municipal Hall under the Programme For Rehabilitation and Recovery from Typhoon Yolanda

Ribbon Cutting	Turnover of the  Lawaan Municipal Hall
Opening ceremony	Speech by Japanese Embassy's Second Secretary Shintaro Ichiki

The Government of Japan turned over the Lawaan Municipal Hall to the Government of the Philippines in a ceremony held on February 22, 2018 in Lawaan City, Eastern Samar. The Lawaan Municipal Hall is one of the projects under the Japan-funded “Program for the Rehabilitation and Recovery from Typhoon Yolanda”. Second Secretary Shintaro Ichiki of the Embassy of Japan, Municipal Mayor of Lawaan Florencio Almeda and Regional Director of DILG Marivel C. Sacendoncillo attended the ceremony, during which the representatives of prospective beneficiaries in Lawaan expressed their deepest appreciation to the Japanese Government.

The Lawaan Municipal Hall, which was severely damaged by Typhoon Yolanda (also known as Typhoon Haiyan outside the Philippines) in November 2013, was rebuilt to enable the delivery of administrative service for the people in the region. A total of 4,550,000USD was provided for this project from the Government of Japan. This Lawaan Municipal Hall is expected to strengthen the functions of evacuation centers in the area and improve administrative services, contributing to overcoming vulnerability and stabilizing the living and production base.

The Program for the Rehabilitation and Recovery from Typhoon Yolanda provides assistance for recovery and reconstruction in areas affected by Typhoon Yolanda. The program focuses on social infrastructure such as healthcare facilities, schools and local government offices; economic infrastructure such as airport, common industrial facilities and power facilities; and disaster preparedness infrastructure such as meteorological radar systems. Through this Program, Japan helps the Philippines build a resilient society against natural disasters and achieve sustainable growth.     

Through the Program, Japan, as the top ODA donor to the Philippines as well as a disaster-prone country itself, has supported the Philippines’ disaster mitigation efforts by sharing its experiences and lessons learned from past natural disasters.  With its policy of “Build Back Better”, the program is expected to further foster the strategic partnership between the two countries and serve as a model for other disaster-prone areas of the Philippines.