DOF Says That Japan-Backed Infra Projects Will Push Thru

The Department of Finance (DOF) has reiterated that the Japan-backed infrastructure projects initiated by the previous Duterte administration will push through.

This comes after the economic heads of the Marcos administration had a meeting with their Japanese counterparts at the 13th Philippines-Japan High-Level Meeting of the Joint Committee on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation held last November 4. In this meeting, both sides talked about the progress of the infrastructure projects.

“The Philippines and Japan have built strong economic, political, and cultural ties that span generations,”  mentioned DOF Secretary Benjamin Diokno.

“We are grateful for the unrelenting support of the Japanese government to the Philippines’ development agenda over the years,”

Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Japan Dr. Mori Masafumi, has said in response that the government of Japan is still a commitment to their development cooperation with the Philippines.

“Let me emphasize that this administration’s commitment to the Philippines remains unchanged under the Marcos presidency,”  mentioned Masafumi.

The Philippines is the top official development assistance (ODA) of Japan in which support has been given to projects relating to health, education, food security, disaster risk mitigation and management, investment readiness, and infrastructure development.

The Philippine and Japanese governments have been collaborating since 2017 on various infrastructure projects such as the  Metro Manila Subway Project Phase I and the North-South Commuter Railway Projects.

On the side of the Japanese government, they have already completed the inauguration of 10 loan-assisted projects from the past administration which totals $1.58 billion or ₱93.071 billion.

Source: Manila Bulletin