Philippines seeks Japan support for government programs

MANILA, Philippines - After China, the Philippines has sought support from Japan, its long-time ally in East Asia and largest assistance provider, to support the thrust of the more than two-month-old Duterte administration.

In a statement yesterday, the Department of Finance (DOF) said Shinichi Kitaoka, president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), met with Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez.

“Mr. Kitaoka expressed his commitment to support the president’s agenda, particularly on urban transport infrastructure projects to address Metro Manila’s traffic congestion and the peace process in Mindanao,” Finance Undersecretary Ma. Editha Tan said.

“Both sides exchanged views to further cooperate and look into the pipeline of projects for cooperation...,” she was quoted as saying in the statement.

Aside from Dominguez and Tan, present at the “recent” courtesy call were Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia, Finance director Rommel Herrera and Foreign Affairs acting director Bolivar Bao.

Kitaoka, meanwhile, was accompanied by a JICA delegation led by Philippine representative Susumu Ito.

According to the DOF, projects discussed included the planned subway for Mega Manila, whose study is being conducted by JICA and is expected to be finished by August 2017.

The project is part of the “Roadmap for Transport Infrastructure Development for Metro Manila and Surrounding Areas” which JICA had said would cost P4.76 trillion until 2030.

Dominguez and Kitaoka also discussed the procurement of 94-meter vessels for the Philippine Coast Guard, as well as a planned technical assistance for Davao City urban planning.

Under the DOF’s financing plan next year, 80 percent or P102.26 billion of the P126.26-billion in gross foreign borrowings will be sourced through project and program loans or ODA.

This marks a change from the previous administration’s focus on commercial borrowings or through bond issuances for its funding needs.

By country, Japan was the Philippines’ biggest source of ODA in 2014, amounting to $3.33 billion, accounting for 23.2 percent of total, government data showed.

Earlier, Dominguez also met with Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua who also pledged ODA loans to the Duterte government that had been more welcoming of China despite the South China Sea dispute.

The country did not get assistance from China for the past six years.

“It is perfectly normal to welcome such dynamic completion by the two Asian juggernauts (China and Japan),” said Richard Heydarian, political science professor at De La Salle University.

“The important thing is the Philippines’ diversifies its investment options and never relies on one country alone,” Heydarian said in a text message.