Ambassador-Designate to the Philippines Kazuhide Ishikawa will attend the turn-over ceremony of "The Project for the Provision of Emergency Vehicles to the Typhoon Yolanda Affected Areas in the Philippines" on November 23, 2014. The project was funded through the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP). The turn-over will be conducted from Ambassador-Designate Ishikawa to General Ariel Barayuga, Officer-In-Charge at the Bureau of Fire Protection, which is the recipient of the said emergency vehicles. The Embassy is proud to announce that the ceremony will be witnessed by Honorable Kenji Kosaka, member of the House of Councillors of Japan and President of the Japan-Philippines Parliamentarians' Friendship League (JPPFL) and the Senate President Honorable Franklin Drilon.
The project was initially announced when a delegation led by Honorable Kosaka met with the Honorable Senator Franklin Drilon in Manila on May 5, 2014. It is part of Japan's additional donation to the Philippines of previously-used 20 emergency vehicles (17 units of fire trucks and 3 units of ambulances) intended primarily for the municipalities seriously damaged by Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan in Central Visayas. Aside from that, additional grant amounting to USD 202,760 (approximately 8.5 million pesos) was given to the Bureau of Fire Protection for the payment of expenses related to the shipment of the said vehicles from Japan to the Philippines.
With these vehicles, Japan wishes to contribute to the fast recovery and rehabilitation of the beneficiary-municipalities as well as equipped them with the necessary facilities that will provide immediate response during catastrophe.
Government of Japan, as the top ODA donor for the Philippines, launched the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects in the Philippines in 1989 for the purpose of reducing poverty and helping various communities engaged in grassroots activities. At present, 499 grassroots projects have been implemented by GGP. Japan believes that this project will not only strengthen the friendship between the peoples of Japan and the Philippines but also contribute to further fostering a strategic partnership between Japan and the Philippines toward the future.
|
