Jica extends P11.7-B loan to PH for disaster resilience
MANILA -Malacañang has signed with Japan International Cooperation Agency a 30-billion-yen or about P11.7-billion soft loan to promote quick recovery and strengthen preparedness in times of disasters.
Considering that about 20 typhoons hit the Philippines every year, Jica has been extending the Post-Disaster Standby Loan (PSDL) to provide funds following emergencies so that recovery and reconstruction will be faster.
This latest one signed in Tokyo is the third of Jica’s PSDLs for the Philippines, which started with a 50-billion-yen package in the aftermath of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” in 2013. In between, there was also a 50-billion-yen second-phase PSDL that was provided in 2020, intended to help mitigate and manage recovery from disasters including infectious diseases.
Philippine economic officials, including Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, were in Tokyo to attend the 14th Philippines-Japan High-Level Joint Committee Meeting on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation, held on Aug. 28. Diokno signed for the Philippines, and his counterpart was Jica senior vice president Nakazawa Keiichiro.
“Jica continues to support the Philippines in its disaster risk reduction and management efforts, and the PDSL will help boost resilience in times of disasters,” said Sakamoto Takema, Jica chief representative to the Philippines.
“We are living in the same disaster-prone countries, and we can support each other as close partners,” Sakamoto said in a statement. “The ties between Japan and the Philippines will remain stronger than brothers, especially in times of need.”
According to Jica, the latest PDSL will contribute to efforts towards various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as Goal 9 related to Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure as well as Goal 11 related to Sustainable Cities and Communities, and Goal 13 related to Climate Action.
“We stand by the Philippines when disasters happen as seen in our track record in the Typhoon Yolanda recovery, Bohol earthquake, and Covid-19 pandemic to cite a few,” Sakamoto said. “We provide not just hard measures including emergency goods, but we also complement it with soft measures such as capacity development,” he added.
The Philippines is the largest recipient of Jica programs in Southeast Asia, amounting to 418 billion yen in Japan’s fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2022.
