Honorable Professor NIEVES R. CONFESOR
Chairperson of the GRP Panel of OPAPP
Ms. LINDA WIRTH
ILO SRO-Manila Director
Mr. KAZUYUKI TSURUMI
FAO Representative in the Philippines
Honorable Mayor PRUDENCIO MAXINO of Mulanay
Municipality of Mulanay , Bondoc Peninsula
Honorable Mayor ALLEN UY of San Narciso
Municipality of San Narciso , Bondoc Peninsula
Distinguished partners and guests
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Good morning. It is a great pleasure for me to be here with you today for the launching of the ILO-FAO Joint Project entitled “Inter-Agency Programme to Nurture Peace, Security and Decent Work through Local Development in Conflict Areas of the Philippines ( Bondoc Peninsula )”.
First of all, I would like to appreciate the valuable contributions made by our partners in this project namely, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), the local government units, related government line agencies and local NGOs. Your continued efforts will be a key to the effective implementation of this very important and timely endeavor.
This joint programme, as evident in its title, addresses three main issues: peace, security and decent work. The Government of Japan recognizes the need to address these issues in order for a community, and even for a nation, to be able to fulfill its potential for development and therefore be able to provide for its people a life with security and dignity.
The direct beneficiaries of this project, the people of the Bondoc Peninsula, are facing challenges in many levels, having to deal with the poverty and underdevelopment in addition to conflict and security threats in the area. This project, with its framework of protection and empowerment, aims to assist the people in enhancing their livelihood, improving their income opportunities, empowering them through skills development training, and promoting their social protection.
This framework with all its accompanying features is implemented with the ultimate objective of achieving human security. Japan, on its part, considers “human security” as an important principle in international cooperation. In fact, this project is funded by the Government of Japan through the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security. In 2006, the Japanese Government, also through the UN Trust Fund for Human Security, funded another three-year project implemented by ILO entitled “Economic and Social Reintegration of Returned Victims of Trafficking in Thailand and the Philippines.”
Japan is fully committed to the principles that are inherent in these two projects. Integrated and on-the-ground approaches that are targeted at specific communities are expected to promote the human security of disadvantaged people, who, in the case of the current project, are the people of Bondoc Peninsula.
Finally, let me reiterate the Japanese government's full support and participation in the global effort to ensure human security for all. I strongly hope that this project will produce positive results that will impact the lives of the people in Bondoc, Quezon by uplifting their standards of living, and, thus, ultimately providing them with a life in peace and security and sustained through decent work.
Thank you very much for your attention.
Embassy of Japan in the Philippines