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JICA vows continuing support to Mindanao peace and development

Top: Sachiko Ishikawa, JICA Senior Advisor, presented JICA’s support for peace and development in Mindanao under the session, “Regional Development and the Peace Process”; top right: JICA Chief Representative Susumu Ito hands the certificate of appreciation to Dr. Mansoor Limba, Associate Professor of the Al Qalam Institute, Ateneo de Davao University for moderating one of the sessions; bottom right: Undersecretary Diosita Andot from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process shared that sustained development initiatives are crucial to achieving peace

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) vowed continuing support to Mindanao peace and development during the forum, Way Forward: Beyond Peace in Mindanao. The Japanese Embassy, JICA, and the Ateneo de Manila University organized said forum in December where about 200 stakeholders from government, academe, and civil society attended. Said forum discussed issues on youth and extremism, autonomy, and regional development initiatives with development partners. It also complemented the ongoing efforts of the Philippine government to stay on course in the peace process and provide momentum for Mindanao’s inclusive socio-economic development. Undersecretary Diosita Andot of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process said during the forum that a successful peace effort also means empowering communities so they can sustain development initiatives. JICA has been supporting peace and development in Mindanao since 2002 implementing cooperation projects that impact on infrastructure, agriculture, transportation, livelihood, hydropower, and capacity building of local governments.

JICA-assisted new LRT 1 rolling stocks seen to help decongest Metro Manila traffic

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One hundred twenty (120) new rolling stocks for the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) through Official Development Assistance (ODA) are seen to help decongest Metro Manila and enhance business climate in the country. The Department of Transportation (DOTR) awarded in November the contract to supply said new rolling stocks to Mitsubishi Corporation (MC). MC will supply 120 cars (equivalent to 30 train sets) to LRT Line 1 beginning 2020 until 2022. Said project is part of the JICA’s JPY 43,252 million ODA loan for ‘Capacity Enhancement of Mass Transit Systems in Metro Manila Project’ that aims to support quality transport infrastructure in the Philippines to help sustain the country’s robust economic growth. “Through the project, JICA aims to support the Philippines in accommodating growing demand for quality mass transport and job opportunities,” said Mr. Susumu Ito, Chief Representative of JICA Philippines office. “The present administration’s thrust to usher in a ‘golden age of infrastructure’ could also mean a ‘golden age for investments’ in the Philippines.’ With this, JICA hopes to continue contributing to Philippine economic growth in a sustainable way through infrastructure development.” The LRT Line 1 new rolling stocks will use Japanese technology and products while helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Once completed, the new rolling stocks of LRT Line 1 can accommodate 1,388 passengers per train and more than double the number of running trains to 222. JICA has supported quality transport infrastructure in the Philippines since the ‘70s with 45% of its ODA loan portfolio channeled to supporting infrastructure even in the remotest areas.

DSWD, JICA, Japanese NPO graduate 81 house parents, social workers in training on quality care for vulnerable children in NCR

About 81 house parents and social workers from the National Capital Region (NCR) completed a training on quality house parenting under a development cooperation project of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Japanese non-profit group ACTION (A Child’s Trust is Ours to Nurture). The training is part of the second phase of a 3-year project Ensuring Children’s Potential for Development and Independence through Improved Residential Care Practices. The first phase of the project, completed in 2015, helped establish a training system for house parents and social workers to promote quality care standards in pilot child care facilities. The training was based on the house parenting standards in centers and institutions for children operating in Central Luzon. The training was eventually mainstreamed to other facilities not only in Region 3 and NCR, but also to selected house parents from Visayas and Mindanao. Under the training, house parents learn their rights and responsibilities to the children under their care. They are also provided with various rights-based and child-centered techniques and strategies in handling children in need of special protection. “The training helped me learn the rights of children and even my strengths and weaknesses as a house parent. I realized that house parents are important part of the multi-

disciplinary team and that we should possess a huge heart for children so we could do our best to help them,” said Santiago Cinco Jr, a house parent and training participant from Pasay City Youth Home. Ms. Masuko Etsuko, NGO Desk Chief of JICA mentioned in her speech that the house parenting standards developed under the project will hopefully ensure a common understanding of the role of house parents in Philippine childcare facilities. “ Everyone dealing with children has obligation to possess positive discipline and understand the dynamics of caring for young children in need of protection”, she added.

JICA-NGO Desk Chief Etsuko Masuko (rightmost) along with representatives from ACTION and DSWD award the certificate of participation to a houseparent who completed the training under the project, “Ensuring Children’s Potential for Development and Independence through Improved Residential Care Practices”

PH delegation highlights DRR experience in Japan

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A Philippine delegation composed of 16 officials from frontline agencies in disaster management and media shared the country’s disaster risk reduction (DRR) experience with some delegates while also exploring lessons from Japan’s disaster experience in Tohoku Region at the World Bosai Forum - International Disaster Risk Conference in Sendai, Japan held in November. Officials from the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Administration (PAGASA), Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) met with Japanese experts from disaster-affected areas in Sendai to study their recovery process after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011, as well as experts from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to discuss DRR investments. “We understood the importance of using scientific data in understanding risks and saw the role of investing in critical infrastructure to safeguard people against disasters,” said Edwin Salonga, Chief of Disaster Risk Governance Division, Policy Development and Planning Service of the OCD. The Philippine delegation also visited the ruins of the Great East Japan Earthquake at Sendai Arahama Elementary School, the Sendai 3/11 Memorial Community Center, Higashi-Matsushima in Miyagi Prefecture, and the Japan Meteorological Agency in Tokyo to name a few.

News from the Field

Top: Officials from the OCD, NEDA, PAGASA, PHIVOLCS, DPWH and DSWD shared the country’s disaster experience at the World Bosai Forum in Sendai, Japan; bottom: Undersecretary for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation of DOST and PHIVOLCS Director Renato Solidum (right) and other delegates visited an area in Edogawa-Ku, Tokyo which is below sea level

JICA, DTI push for academe-industry-gov’t cooperation for auto industry

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) together with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) are pushing for a partnership model among academe, industry, and government to build the skill sets of the Filipino workforce in target industries and further boost the country’s global competitiveness through linkage promotion between foreign companies and local companies, policy support for enhancing Supply and Value Chain (SVCD) and capacity development of local companies. JICA Chief Representative Susumu Ito and DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez signed in November the Record of Discussion for a four-year technical cooperation for development planning “Enhancement of Industrial Competitiveness through Industrial Human Resource Development (IHRD) and Supply and Value Chain Development.” The cooperation is the latest push to help advance the Philippines’ attractiveness as an investment destination, specifically for automotive and auto parts companies, as well as investors in IT, electronics, and engineering services. Said industries were identified under the Philippines’ Comprehensive National Industrial Strategy (CNIS) because of their strong forward and backward linkages that has a multiplier effect to the economy in terms of job creation and value added. Under the project, pilot universities will review and update the curriculum and training/immersion programs to make Filipino graduates competitive, while local and foreign industries could join business matching activities among others. Likewise, local suppliers could work with foreign companies and get support for management and marketing capacity building, market access, and productivity improvement. Training institutions, meanwhile, would also receive assistance in reviewing their programs and enhancing their industry linkages.

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Young Japanese helps Bohol tap Japanese market

Bohol Tourism Officer Gina Kapirig and JICA volunteer Akiko Nagata work together to develop and promote Bohol’s tourism programs

A young Japanese dispatched under the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Volunteer program is building the capacity of 15 ecotourism sites and introducing disaster risk reduction (DRR) in local tourism to attract Japanese tourists in Bohol. Akiko Nagata, 29, left her job in a Japanese travel agency to volunteer at Bohol Tourism Office. “Bohol has so much potential in sustainable tourism and the Boholanos have a unique kind of hospitality that can help boost tourism in the area,” said Nagata, who previously worked in tourism promotions in Japan’s Gunma Prefecture in northern Tokyo. Already, she has partnered with 12 local government units in Bohol namely Buenavista, Alicia, Anda, Antequera, Balilihan, Carmen, Loboc, Maribojoc, Loay, Dauis, and Danao to study value-added activities including sales tools that can be incorporated in Bohol’s tourism programs. Nagata also worked with the Bohol Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRM) on security and DRR trainings in 34 accommodation facilities in Bohol.

15 Young Filipinos sent to Japan for science and math educ Fifteen young Filipinos were dispatched to Japan for the Knowledge Co-Creation Program (Young Leaders) for math and science education training as part of the Japan International Cooperation Agency’s (JICA) capacity building assistance to the Philippines. “The training is our way of strengthening our relationship with our partner countries where both mutually learn, grow, and develop together,” said JICA Chief Representative Susumu Ito. “It’s also an opportunity to share Japanese values and skills that young Filipinos can apply to contribute to nation building.” “Japan’s educational system is worth emulating. They have one of the best educated populations in the world, with 100% enrollment in compulsory grades and zero illiteracy. I’ve observed how their teachers inculcate moral values in their lessons. Also, we saw how students are responsible in cleaning their classrooms teaching them the value of hard work, cleanliness, and respect in their work and that of others,” said Eileen Villaruz, 34, Master Teacher II in Iligan City National High School in Northern Mindanao . Villaruz and the other training participants were at the Shimane Prefecture to visit Shimane Prefectural Government, and several schools and educational centers in the area. They also stayed with a family in Izumo City and visited museums and other cultural landmarks.

Mindanao participants in the KCCP Young Leaders for math and science education with JICA Chief Representative Susumu Ito (center)

Villaruz and fellow trainees visited the Shimane Prefecture to observe classes and visit educational centers and museums

Winners of JICA’s first photography contest in the Philippines

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About JICA

JICA Philippines Office

40F Yuchengco Tower, RCBC Plaza

6819 Ayala Avenue, Makati City

Telephone: +632 889-7119

Facsimile: +632 889-6850

Website: www.jica.go.jp

Editorial Team Jennifer Erice

Lara Javier

Maffy Carandang

A photo of a mother and child living in the Cordillera won the top prize in the first Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) photography competition in the Philippines. The winning photo taken by Jaime Singlador, a civil engineer, depicted Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) to support the Philippines’ maternal and child health services (MCH) in remote areas in the Cordillera. The other winning images featured JICA’s flood control project in Ormoc taken by Macbeth Omega and the Mandaue-Mactan bridge project against a sunset backdrop by Paulo Andrada. More than 250 entries from across the Philippines joined the competition, taken by individuals from different professions, mostly millennials, highlighted different facets of JICA assistance for farmers, women, children, and other vulnerable communities.

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(1) Mother and Child, grand prize winner, Jaime Singlador (2) No More Killer Floods, second place, Macbeth Omega (3) Bridging Lives, third place, Paulo Andrada (4) A Better Tomorrow Starts with Healthier Citizens by Carter Luma-Ang (5) Batangas Port Development Project, runner-up, Allan Castaneda (5)Skilled Filipino for a Better Tomorrow, runner up, Nomer Pascual

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is the executing agency of Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA), which handles technical cooperation, ODA loans and investment, and grant aid, as well as cooperation volunteers and disaster relief programs. JICA is the world’s largest bilateral aid agency with its volume of cooperation amounting to about USD 16.4 billion for JFY 2016 and a world-wide network of about 100 overseas offices including the Philippines.