Among Southeast Asian countries, the Philippines received the highest Official Development Assistance (ODA) of JPY260 billion yen, approximately P109 billion, for technical and financial cooperation in the Japanese Fiscal Year April 2021 to March 2022, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) reported.
JICA, Japan government's ODA executing agency, said in a statement Friday, Jan. 27, that it is venturing into over 80 ongoing cooperation all over the Philippines, including projects that focus on infrastructure development, human/social development, disparity mitigation, disaster management, urban road congestion mitigation, and peace in Mindanao.
One of JICA’s most significant cooperation in the Philippines todate is the first phase of the Metro Manila Subway Project, now in full swing.
Construction activities in several stations and tunnel drilling activities already started early this 2023.
The subway project is a massive investment for the Philippine government as it works with JICA to ease congestion in the metropolis and improve air quality.
Recently, JICA President Tanaka Akihiko visited the Philippines to reaffirm the significance of the agency's cooperation with the country for its development needs.
President Tanaka has visited the country for the 5th time now as head of the agency. His previous stops were during his first tenure as JICA President from 2012 to 2015.
JICA has significantly contributed to the achievement of the 1-Trillion commitment done by the Government of Japan in 2017 to quality growth, human security, peace and stability.
The Philippines is one of the top beneficiaries of ODA from Japan.
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For this year’s visit, President Tanaka visited Cotabato City and nearby communities and was the first foreign official to speak at the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Parliament.
The BTA Parliament adopted two resolutions commending JICA and President Tanaka for their support and contribution to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
“For me, the peace and development in Mindanao is very special," Tanaka stated. "This is essential for the prosperity of the entire Philippines.”
He underscored JICA’s continuous commitment to contribute to the quality growth and human security, as a long-standing and reliable partner to the Filipino people.
JICA is the world’s largest bilateral aid agency, with scale of operations amounting to $17 billion.
It is present in more than 150 countries and regions, and has almost 100 overseas offices including the Philippines.
The agency is also the country’s foremost partner in socioeconomic development, sharing Japanese expertise and technology in most of cooperation projects.