MANILA, Philippines — Japan has approved the release of an additional 600 million yen (about P315 million) in fresh development aid to the Philippines, according to the Japanese Embassy in Pasay City.
The grant will go to the rehabilitation of an undisclosed number of roads and other public infrastructure damaged by typhoons that hit the country recently, the embassy announced over the weekend.
Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Toshinao Urabe and Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario signed the development assistance on April 27 during simple rites at the Department of Foreign Affairs headquarters, also in Pasay.
“This project is for the recovery of areas in the Philippines devastated by typhoons in the last quarter of 2012, as well as for the establishment of disaster-prevention schemes in the country,” the embassy said in a statement.
Japan earlier provided $2 million cash and 25 million yen worth of emergency relief goods “in the aftermath of tropical storm Sendong” that hit Cagayan de Oro and Iligan cities in northern Mindanao.
“Regrettably, recovery is still not enough as there is still a need to restore the foundations of the typhoon-affected people from a long-term standpoint. In addition, there is a need to establish solid disaster prevention schemes to mitigate the damage from natural disasters in the future,” the mission added.
In March, the Tokyo government announced the allocation of 61.4 billion yen (about P33.4 billion) in development aid to Manila.
The funds were set aside for eight infrastructure projects, including the Central Luzon Link Expressway and flood control works in the Pasig and Lower Marikina rive channels.
Of the eight projects, two will be funded by grants: provision of disaster risk management equipment for the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology and the construction of the Umiray bridge in Quezon province.
The remaining projects will be funded by soft loans. They include an arterial road bypass along the Philippine-Japan Friendship Highway in Bulacan; flood risk management for the Cagayan, Tagoloan (Bukidnon) and Imus (Cavite) river basins; national irrigation sector rehabilitation; and sustainable agrarian and agricultural development for Mindanao.