Japan to give P676-M in grants for PH maritime safety, Marawi rehab

Japan will give the Philippines 1.5 billion yen or about P676 million in grants to build up the Philippine Coast Guard’s maritime safety capability as well as reconstruct and rehabilitate war-torn Marawi City, the Department of Finance said Sunday.

In a stament, the DOF quoted a recent report of its international finance group to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III as saying that part of the grant will go to the Department of Public Works and Highways in the form of heavy equipment and machineries such as bulldozers, excavators and dump trucks for Marawi reconstruction and rehabilitation.

The Philippine Coast Guard, meanwhile, will receive equipment, including closed circuit televisions as well as radar and radio systems, to not only strengthen its maritime safety capabilities but also counterterrorism capabilities, the DOF said.

The DOF noted that last year, Dominguez and Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) president Shinichi Kitaoka formalized a number of agreements that included a 16.5-billion yen concessional loan to the Philippine Coast Guard.

This official development assistance was provided to buy a couple of large-scale patrol vessels under the Philippine Coast Guard’s maritime safety capability improvement project (MSCIP).

“Equivalent to P6.8 billion, this Jica loan was extended at an interest rate of between 0.01 (consulting component) and 0.10 (non-consulting component) percent per annum with a maturity period of 40 years, inclusive of a 10-year grace period,” the DOF said.

“The acquisition of two 94-meter large-scale patrol ships under phase two of the MSCIP is on top of the ongoing ODA from Japan for the first phase of the project, which involves the procurement of 10 units of 40-meter Philippine Coast Guard patrol vessels,” the DOF added.

As of the middle of this year, five of the 10 vessels were already delivered, with all units expected by August next year.

Also, the DOF said that “besides the loan agreement, Japan had also announced the provision of additional vessels for the Philippine Coast Guard through a 600-million yen (about P280 million) grant for the procurement of high-speed boats and other equipment to boost the Philippines’ anti-terrorism and security activities,” which covered the purchase of one 20-meter high-speed boat on top of 14 units of seven-meter high-speed vessels. /je