PH growth not inclusive enough, says Japan aid exec

DAVAO CITY—A ranking Japanese official said the Philippines might have achieved a staggering economic growth but this was not enough to make Filipinos live comfortably.

Takahiro Sasaki, chief representative to the Philippines of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), said this was why the agency was working hard to help the Aquino administration’s thrust for inclusive growth.

Sasaki said although the Philippine economy expanded by 7.8 percent in the first quarter this year, the fastest growth in Asia, “there is still much work to do in order to make this growth more inclusive.”

“Jica aims to help the Philippines sustain a growth cycle, where there is a robust domestic market, higher disposable income from the middle class, and meaningful jobs for all,” he told reporters here on Wednesday.

Sasaki said Jica had been sharing Japanese expertise and technology with Filipino micro, small and medium enterprises or MSMEs, which he described as the backbone of the Philippine economy.

This, he said, was being done through Jica’s National Industry Cluster Capacity Enhancement Project, or Niccep.

Sasaki said since its implementation months ago, Niccep has already helped generate 97,243 jobs, and P4.76 billion from more than a thousand SMEs.

He said these figures can be verified with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

“Through Niccep, Japanese experts led by Mr. Tetsuo Inouka, and the Department of Trade and Industry, through Undersecretary Merly Cruz, continue to build success stories by assisting 24 industry clusters across the (Philippines). These industries include, to cite a few, the dairy, bamboo, coffee, mango, banana, seaweed, rubber, and tuna industries scattered in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao,” Sasaki said.

He said Niccep’s target was to drive growth and competitiveness of a cluster within a region in the Philippines. This entails building the capacities of SMEs “to add value to their goods and services, be it through more efficient logistics, better packaging, or other strategies; and also by providing access to markets and finance.”—Judy Quiros