Phl, Japan Meet On $90B Commitment For Economy

The Philippines and Japan marked Wednesday (July 28) their 11th high-level meeting on infrastructure development and economic cooperation with the completion this month of the 2017 Japanese commitment of 1 trillion yen (about US$9 billion) in assistance for the Duterte administration’s Build, Build, Build (BBB) program and its other priority initiatives.

Photo Insert: The first of six Japan-made tunnel boring machines shipped to the country for digging tunnels of the 17-station Metro Manila Subway Project

In the completion of then-Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s commitment to President Duterte to extend JPY1-trillion in financing to the Philippines from 2017 to 2022, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez noted the signing on July 27 of the Exchange of Notes for the P253.31-billion (about US$2.3 billion) second tranche loan for the 1st phase of the Metro Manila Subway Project.

This commitment was fulfilled under the current administration of Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who was the Chief Cabinet Secretary during Prime Minister Abe’s term.

Dr. Hiroto Izumi, the Special Advisor to the Japan Prime Minister, who led the Japanese side in the virtual meeting, also highlighted this “milestone achievement” in the longstanding partnership between the two countries which Japan was able to deliver in four-and-a-half years.

He said that under the two countries’ “fast and sure approach,” Japan is planning to expand its assistance to the Philippines beyond its 2017 commitment of JPY 1 trillion.

The Philippine side was led by Secretary Dominguez and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua.

Secretary Dominguez noted that “today’s meeting [reflects] the 65th anniversary of the normalization of the Japan-Philippines diplomatic relations and a decade-old Strategic Partnership.”

“What better way to spend this momentous occasion than by fulfilling the one trillion yen commitment to the Philippines by the Government of Japan during the Duterte administration from 2017 to 2022, covering both ODA (official development assistance) and private sector financing,” he added.

Dr. Izumi, on his part said that “Japan, led by Prime Minister Suga, has continued to give us his support to Build, Build, Build and the Mindanao peace process,“ which underscores the “comprehensive” and “deepening” cooperation between the two countries.

He cited the Light Rail Transit (LRT)-2 East Extension Project that was completed despite the severe constraints of the pandemic, and recently inaugurated by President Duterte, as a prime example of Japan’s “fast and sure” approach in delivering its assistance to the Philippines.

A significant portion of the JPY1-trillion commitment to the Philippines provided funding support for the big-ticket projects of the Duterte administration’s BBB program, such as the Metro Manila Subway, North-South Commuter Railway, Metro Rail Transit-3 Rehabilitation, Metro Manila Priority Bridges Seismic Improvement, Davao City Bypass Construction Project, Cebu-Mactan Bridge (4th Bridge) and Coastal Road Construction Project, and the Paranaque Spillway, among others.

Japan has also assisted the Philippine government in developing the Subic Bay Regional Development Master Plan, with the final report on the study having been completed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) within schedule despite the logistical challenges posed by the pandemic.

The report was handed over to Secretary Dominguez by Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhiko Koshikawa on July 27.

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