The Japanese Embassy in the Philippines has signed a grant contract providing an ambulance to the municipality of Padre Burgos in Southern Leyte, citing the need to boost its emergency response system.

Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koshikawa Kazuhiko signed a grant for the said contract on February 18.

The project titled, “The Project for Provision of an Ambulance in Padre Burgos, Southern Leyte,” is funded under the Grant Assistance for Grass-roots Human Security Projects (GGP) scheme for the Fiscal Year 2022.

The total grant amount is US$41,242.

In a statement, the project aims to provide a brand-new ambulance to add to Padre Burgos’s single ambulance.

“Since the municipality only has one dilapidated ambulance despite approximately 270 dispatch requests a year, strengthening the municipality’s emergency response system is urgently needed,” the Embassy’s statement read.

Through the provision of a brand-new ambulance, the project is expected to strengthen the emergency response system and improve emergency medical care services for Padre Burgos’s 11,000 residents.

The Government of Japan, as the top Official Development Assistance (ODA) donor for the Philippines, launched the GGP in the Philippines in 1989 for the purpose of reducing poverty and helping various communities engage in grassroots activities.

As of the present time, 549 grassroots projects, including the ambulance for Padre Burgos, have been funded by GGP.

According to the Embassy, 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.