Honorable Kenji Kosaka delivered his speech at the turn-over ceremony.
His Excellency Kazuhide Ishikawa delivered his speech at the turn-over ceremony.
Honorable Kenji Kosaka and His Excellency Kazuhide Ishikawa
were welcomed by the BFP officers
Picture of the vehicles was turned over from His Excellency Kazuhide Ishikawa
to CSUPT Ariel A. Barayuga, BFP’s Officer-In-Charge
witnessed by Honorable Kosaka and Honorable Drilon
Japanese Ambassador-Designate to the Philippines Kazuhide Ishikawa attended 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 at the National Headquarters of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in Quezon City. This project was funded through the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) by the Japanese government and the BFP is the recipient of the fund as well as the said emergency vehicles. The turn-over was conducted from Ambassador-Designate Ishikawa to General Ariel Barayuga, BFP’s Officer-In-Charge 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 President of the Philippines-Japan Parliamentarians Association (PJPA) together with about 550 officers from the BFP.
The project was initially announced when a delegation led by Honorable Kosaka met with Honorable Senator Franklin Drilon in Manila on May 5, 2014. It was the donation from the Japan Fire Fighters Association 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) from the Japanese government was given to the BFP for the payment of expenses related to the shipment of the said vehicles from Japan to the Philippines.
In his message, Honorable Kosaka mentioned that the vehicles will be sent to the typhoon affected area and that he promises that the vehicles would be useful for those who were affected by the natural disaster. He also renewed his commitment for strengthening the bilateral relations saying that “he will do his best so that the two countries can cooperate with each other for the safety of their people and also our two countries can further develop our countries with other Asian nations.”
In his message, Ambassador-Designate Ishikawa renewed his heartfelt condolences to the victims of Typhoon Yolanda and expressed his hope that the Japanese emergency vehicles will help the affected municipalities handling emergency needs. He also introduced that Japan will host “the 3rd United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction” in Sendai next March and expressed his expectation that our two countries will work hand in hand in disaster risk reduction and management.
General Ariel Barayuga, BFP’s Officer-In-Charge introduced a message by Secretary Roxas, DILG saying that “on behalf of the Government of the Philippines and the Department of the Interior and Local Government, we wish to express our deepest appreciation to the Government of Japan through Japanese Ambassador-Designate Kazuhide Ishikawa and Japanese Councillor Kenji Kosaka for their generous donation” “This ODA initiative project from Japan is an opportunity for us given the current needs of the Bureau of Fire.”
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.
Japanese Version
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