The Philippines and Japan will hold their 12th high-level joint committee meeting on infrastructure development and economic cooperation tomorrow, February 16, with discussions to center on the accomplishments made by the body on the Japan-supported big-ticket projects under the Build, Build, Build program, the Department of Finance (DOF) said.
The DOF said in a statement yesterday these are, among others, the Metro Manila Subway Project, North-South Commuter Railway project, rehabilitation of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3, Dalton Pass East Alignment Road, Central Mindanao Highway and the Parañaque Spillway.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez will chair the Philippine side, while Mori Masafumi, the special advisor to prime minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, will lead the Japanese delegation in the meeting.
In this week’s meeting, the two sides will also provide updates on the financing extended by Japan for the Philippines’ coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response programs and the progress of the Japan-funded programs in support of the Mindanao peace process.
Japan has been actively supporting these peace-building programs through the framework of the Japan-Bangsamoro Initiatives for Reconstruction and Development.
Through various international organizations, Japan also provided the Philippines last month with a $13-million emergency grant aid for the implementation of humanitarian assistance activities for the victims of Typhoon Odette that devastated thousands of communities in the Visayas and Northern Mindanao.
In July 8 last year, the Philippines received a shipment of over one million AstraZeneca doses donated by the Japanese government which, since the start of the pandemic, has been in close cooperation with Philippine officials in helping contain the spread of COVID-19.
These Japan-backed projects to help curb the spread of the virus include the COVID-19 Crisis Response Emergency Support Loan, Post-Disaster Standby Loan Phase 2, the joint clinical trial for the anti-flu drug Avigan, procurement of medical equipment and establishment of laboratory surveillance sites, and the development of a cold chain system in the Philippines.
