PH, Japan execs to meet Dec. 6 for review of multi-billion peso projects
Midway through the Duterte administration, Filipino and Japanese economic officials will assess the rollout of big-ticket infrastructure to be financed by Japan when they meet on Dec. 6.
Asked about the agenda, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia told the Inquirer on Tuesday, Dec. 3, that the two sides will discuss “mostly ongoing projects plus those in the pipeline to see how they’re faring.”
Also, the ninth meeting of the Philippines-Japan joint committee on infrastructure development and economic cooperation in Hakone will look into “midway adjustments as needed, and hastening the pace to the extent practicable,” added Pernia, who heads the state planning agency National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).
Pernia and Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III will co-chair the Philippine delegation, while Hiroto Izumi, special advisor to Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, will lead the host country.
The committee was supposed to meet in October, but the Japanese government had their hands full with the scheduled crowning of new Emperor Naruhito that month, officials had told the Inquirer.
Dominguez noted that following the eight previous meetings of the joint committee that started in 2017, the Philippines and Japan already signed the following 10 loans agreements for various infrastructure projects.
These are Arterial Road Bypass Project phase 3 in Bulacan; Cavite Industrial Area Flood Risk Management Project; Harnessing Agribusiness Opportunities through Robust and Vibrant Entrepreneurship Supportive of Peaceful Transformation (Harvest); Maritime Safety Capability Improvement Project for the Philippine Coast Guard phase 2; Metro Manila Subway Project; Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 Rehabilitation Project; New Bohol Airport Construction and Sustainable Environment Protection Project 2; first tranche of loan for North-South Commuter Railway Extension Project; Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project phase 4; and Road Network Development Project in Conflict-Affected Areas in Mindanao.
“Several of these agreements involving infrastructure projects were each processed and approved in a short span of three to four months,” Dominguez said.
“The regular meetings held between the Philippines and Japan are part of the ‘fast and sure’ approach adopted by the two countries to ensure the smooth and swift implementation of the Japan-funded projects under President Duterte’s signature ‘Build, Build, Build’ infrastructure modernization program,” Dominguez added.
As of end-2018, Japan was still the Philippines’ top source of official development assistance (ODA) with a combined $8.26 billion in loans and grants or 46 percent of the country’s total ODA portfolio.
