Ambassador ENDO Visits the Ilocos Regions
2025/2/28
From 25 to 26 February 2025, Ambassador ENDO Kazuya visited Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur to pay courtesy calls on the Governors of both provinces to sign a new grant contract for ‘the Provision of Disaster Relief Rescue Boats in Ilocos Norte’ with the Governor of the Province of Ilocos Norte Hon. Matthew Marcos Manotoc, and to hold a meeting with the Vice Governor of the Province of Ilocos Norte Hon. Cecilia Araneta Marcos.
On the 25th, Ambassador Endo visited the residence of Governor Matthew Marcos Manotoc, where they held a productive meeting. Ambassador Endo conveyed his gratitude to Governor Manotoc for the invitation to his residence, and introduced the Osaka-Kansai Expo, which will commence on 13 April 2025 in Japan. He also expressed his hope to strengthen cooperation with the Ilocos Norte region to further promote people-to-people exchanges between Japan and the Philippines in the lead-up to the 70th anniversary of Japan-Philippines diplomatic relations in 2026. In addition, Ambassador Endo affirmed his commitment to significantly deepen bilateral cooperation in a wide range of fields, including not only tourism, but also agriculture, infrastructure, and security.
In turn, Governor Manotoc welcomed Ambassador Endo's visit to the Ilocos region and expressed his aspirations for also advancing the cooperation between Japan and the Philippines in areas such as disaster mitigation measures for forest fires and typhoons. He also expressed his gratitude for the implementation of the “SDGs Business Verification Survey with the Private Sector for the Value Chain of Black Garlic” by Japan in 2023, in partnership with Mariano Marcos State University.
In addition, the two signed a grant contract for ”The Provision of Disaster Relief Rescue Boats in Ilocos Norte” under the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects for fiscal year 2024.
Ambassador Endo also paid a courtesy call on the Governor of the Province of Ilocos Sur Hon. Jerry Singson, and expressed his gratitude for the hospitality they extended. He also conveyed his desire to promote Japan-Philippines cooperation in the said province, particularly in the fields of tourism and infrastructure.
Governor Singson gave his warm welcome to Ambassador Endo and expressed his hope for more Japanese tourists to visit the historic city of Vigan, and for Japan-Philippines cooperation through Official Development Assistance (ODA) to be realized in the province.
After visiting the historic district of Vigan, Ambassador Endo also visited the Old Carcel Museum, National Museum of the Philippines – Ilocos, the birthplace of the 6th President, Elpidio R. Quirino.
On the 26th, Ambassador Endo once again visited the Ilocos Norte Provincial Government Office to meet with Vice Governor Cecilia Araneta Marcos. The latter welcomed Ambassador Endo and expressed gratitude for the Japanese government's assistance in the provision of refrigerated trucks for transporting agricultural products, which was implemented as a grant aid project for the Grassroots Human Security Project in 2023. Vice Governor Marcos highlighted that this assistance had contributed to the expansion of sales channels and the improvement of profitability for farmers in Ilocos Norte. In a region where the main industry is agriculture, she discussed the importance of ensuring the transportation of agricultural products while maintaining their quality.