THE amount of Japanese assistance coming into the Philippines may still increase in the coming years, despite Tokyo’s recent amendment to its policy on providing aid to developing countries.
Tokyo will continue to provide assistance to Manila, especially in development areas that are in dire need of aid, even as Japan’s official development assistance (ODA) program was recently changed into official development cooperation, as the Japanese government revised its policy from pure assistance to a two-way relationship.
This was the assurance of the Japanese Embassy to Manila, which said that the change in the charter will not immediately affect the direct assistance to the Philippines, as it still requires financial aid to effect inclusive growth.
“There is no intention to decrease Japan’s ODA [official development assistance], but we can increase depending on the need,” the embassy said, noting, however, that, in the long run, Tokyo will extend cooperation agreements, instead of pure assistance.
The Japanese embassy said the new charter will now focus more on providing disaster relief, maritime security and assistance to Mindanao.
Tokyo has been supporting peace process in Mindanao since 2006, when it launched the Japan-Bangsamoro Initiatives for Reconstruction and Development (J-BIRD).
In March 2014 the Japanese government extended P38 million in assistance to the peace process in Mindanao. The package included the construction of 18 classrooms; an agricultural training center; and four vocational training centers, which mainly targets the youth and women. As of the aforesaid period, the Japanese government has poured in P300 million in assistance to aid the conflict-affected areas in Mindanao.
The ODA program has immensely benefited the Philippines in a wide range of priority areas, including maritime cooperation, peace building, governance, education, health care, and construction, and youth leadership-training programs.
The East Asian country has been the top donor of the Philippines for several years now. The total assistance that Japan has been extending to the Philippines is at ¥5.17 trillion as of end-2012.
In 2012 alone Japan donated some ¥69.97 billion in a mix of grants, loans and technical cooperation to the Philippines.
The Japanese ODA policy mainly revolves around the idea of aiding the Philippines to achieve inclusive growth. It has three priority areas, namely, to achieve sustainable economic growth through further promotion of investment; to overcome vulnerability and stabilizing bases for human life and production activity; and to develop peace in Mindanao.
Japanese aid was responsible for the construction of big-ticket infrastructures in the Philippines, such as the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2, the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and the Arterial Road Bypass in Cabanatuan City, among others.