Honorable Governor Raul A. Daza ,
Province of Northern Samar
Honorable Deputy Administrator A ntonio Galvez,
National Irrigation Administration
Honorable Congressman Paul R. Daza,
First District, Province of Northern Samar
Honorable Mayor Cristina L. Vicencio,
Municipality of Catubig
Honorable Mayor Arlito A. Tan,
Municipality of Las Navas
JICA Senior Representative Kazuhiko Ueno
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Good morning to you all.
On behalf of the Government of Japan, I am deeply honored to be here with you all at today's inauguration of the Catubig Dam under the Help for Catubig Agricultural Advancement Program (HCAAP).
This project reaffirms Japan's continuous support as a top donor to the Philippines' nation building efforts along the lines of the Philippine Government's Medium Term Development and Investment Plan.
Japan's Official Development Assistance (ODA) to your province through the HCAAP covers a comprehensive range of cooperation from infrastructure development, enhancing farmers' livelihood, increasing agricultural productivity as well as improving health and sanitation conditions of the people in the rural communities.
We are pleased to see the significant results of our extensive cooperation for socio economic development in this province, particularly the agricultural and infrastructure sectors.
HCAAP, a major agricultural and infrastructure project started in 2002 geared towards raising the income level of farmers, generating new employment opportunities as well as improving the social infrastructure and services of various communities in Catubig and Las Navas. The project encompasses diverse components including civil works, parasite control (schistosomiasis), agricultural support services, irrigation facilities, institutional development and procurement of equipment.
The Catubic Dam is one of the major components of the HCAAP. The dam has the capacity to irrigate approximately 3,227 hectares of farmlands in two cropping seasons and will benefit more than 580 farm families. I believe that this completed dam will substantially address the critical problem of lack of irrigation water in these communities and will contribute to increased crop production and livelihood opportunities, thereby raising farmers' income and spur economic activities in this province.
I am confident that this project, totaling about 5,210 million yen or approximately 2,565 million pesos, is expected to foster the economic activities of, not only the project's immediate target beneficiaries but also among the rest of the communities in this province.
I would like to congratulate the Provincial Government of Northern Samar, the National Irrigation Administration, the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of Agriculture as well as all the project officers and staff who contributed to the successful completion of this project component.
In closing, let me express my sincere hope that the Catubig Dam and the HCAAP will contribute to the development of Samar and all the authorities concerned will renew the sense of mission to achieve this project's ultimate goal. I wish this project to become another testimony of the longstanding friendship and cooperation between our two countries.
Maraming salamat po at mabuhay tayong lahat! (Thank you and cheers to us all!)
Embassy of Japan in the Philippines