7th high-level PHL-Japan infra meeting set in Osaka

February 20, 2019

Philippine and Japanese officials are set to meet in Osaka, Japan this Thursday to discuss ways of expanding economic cooperation between their two countries, particularly on infrastructure development and on peace-building initiatives for Mindanao.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III will head the Philippine delegation to the 7th meeting of the Philippines-Japan High-Level Joint Committee on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation scheduled on Feb. 21, which will be followed the next day by a Philippine Economic Briefing (PEB).

Dominguez, along with other officials from the Department of Finance (DOF), will also visit the National Tax College Osaka Training Center to learn from its best experiences and gain inputs on how to transform the Philippine Tax Academy (PTA) in Manila into a premier tax knowledge center and an effective training arm for state officials and employees in taxation.

Adopting the “fast and sure” approach, Philippine and Japanese officials are expected to discuss in the Osaka high-level meeting the progress of project approvals and the processing of  financing arrangements  that would provide the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program with additional financing support from Japan. 

Philippine officials are also set to update their Japanese counterparts on the ongoing peace process in Mindanao, following the approval of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), which will clear the way for the creation of a new Bangsamoro region.

Japan, for its part, will report on its observation mission during the Bangsamoro plebiscite and on possible additional areas of cooperation to assist in the Philippines’ peace-building programs in Mindanao.

Since its first meeting in March 2017, the High-Level Joint Committee   has made substantial progress in speeding up the loan approvals for Japan-supported “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure projects, with the processing time shortened to three to four months.

According to Dominguez, Manila and Tokyo have signed nine loan agreements since President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office in June 2016.

Dominguez said the loan agreements with a combined amount of JPY398.82 billion (about $3.63 billion or P189.92 billion) are for the following projects: 

·     Maritime Safety Capability Improvement Project for the Philippine Coast Guard (Phase II);

·     Harnessing Agribusiness Opportunities through Robust and Vibrant Entrepreneurship Supportive of Peaceful Transformation (HARVEST);

·     Cavite Industrial Area Flood Risk Management Project;

·     Arterial Road Bypass Project (Phase III) in Bulacan; 

·     New Bohol Airport Construction and Sustainable Environment Protection Project (II);

·     Metro Rail Transit Line 3 Rehabilitation Project;

·     Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project (Phase IV);

·     North-South Commuter Railway Extension Project (1st tranche of loan); and

·     Metro Manila Subway Project (Phase I), which is the single biggest venture under "Build, Build, Build."

These loan agreements were signed between October 2016 and January 2019. 

The two countries expect the loan agreement for the Road Network Development Project in Conflict-Affected Areas in Mindanao to be signed soon, following the exchange of notes for this project between Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. and Japan Foreign Minister Tarō Kōno during the latter’s visit to Davao City last Feb. 10.

Dominguez said over the years, Japan has been the Philippines’ top official development assistance (ODA) partner.

DOF data show Japan is the number one provider of ODA loans totalling $5.84 billion (47.51 percent of the total), and the number five provider of ODA grants amounting to $141.33 million (6.28 percent of the total). DMS