Jica hopeful road projects to help in Mindanao peace-building
Peace-building in Mindanao was expected to get a boost from two road projects to be rolled out in the war-torn island through financial assistance from Japan.
In a statement, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) said it recently signed with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) a grant agreement for the detailed design study of two subprojects under the Road Network Development Project in Conflict-Affected Areas in Mindanao (RNDP-CAAM), namely: Matanog-Barira-Alamada-Libungan Road (Matanog-Barira Section), and Tapian Lebak Coastal Road.
“In addition to this grant assistance, Jica is also providing a $202.04-million official development loan for the detailed design and construction/improvement of four other subprojects under RNDP-CAAM: Parang Balabagan Road, Marawi City Ring Road, Parang East Diversion Road, and Manuangan Parang Road,” the Japanese government’s aid arm added.
Jica said there was a need to support peace-building through infrastructure development in Mindanao, noting that armed conflict had “affected the region’s connectivity, with ARMM’s road density at 0.10, lower than the average” in the entire island, referring to the previously known Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), now the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
“Through the road network project, people from conflict-affected areas will have links to markets, public facilities, and improve agribusiness potential of their place. Building roads in remote, conflict-affected communities will help bridge the economic gap in the region and help consolidate peace,” Jica senior representative Kiyo Kawabuchi said.
The latest government data showed that in 2018, the ARMM was the lone region where the poverty incidence rate among families inched up, to 53.6 percent from 53.3 percent in 2015.
In contrast, the nationwide poverty incidence among families dropped to 12.1 percent in 2018 from 2015’s 17.9 percent.
The three poorest provinces in the Philippines last year were also in the ARMM: Basilan, Lanao del Sur and Sulu.
