18 November 2014 - Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario said on November 17 that the Philippines and Japan, as strategic partners and close friends, "should continue to pursue an inclusive growth agenda that effectively put our peoples at the center of development."
Speaking at a Symposium commemorating the 60th anniversary of Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) programs in Tokyo, Secretary Del Rosario thanked Japan for six decades of steadfast support and contribution to the Philippines’ development efforts, as a “genuine development partner” of the Philippines.
The Secretary called for a re-focus of Japanese ODA on strengthening institutions and governance and building disaster resilient communities. For Japan’s ODA program to effectively craft a people-centered development response to emerging global challenges, grant programs should concentrate on innovation, science and technology, and human capital development to increase the skills, knowledge, and productivity of Filipinos. For the next 60 years, he urged Japan to continue its adherence towards “self-help” and “country ownership” and to keep up its efforts in fighting poverty, even in middle-income countries.
For countries such as the Philippines, Secretary Del Rosario stressed that ODA can be used to upgrade and modernize public institutions and the entire civil service through institutional capacity-building so as to make them attuned to 21st century governance. “Indeed, the program benefits become substantial when strong institutions exist to implement ODA projects. We therefore welcome more innovative program partnerships with the Japanese Government that will ensure the irreversibility of our reform agenda,” the Secretary remarked during the Symposium attended by over 500 participants at the Lino Hall in Tokyo.
Secretary Del Rosario invited Japan to invest in innovation and human capital development because this strategy becomes an imperative as the Philippines enters its so-called demographic sweet spot in 2015, when majority of its population, with a median age of 22 years, enters the workforce. In this connection, he said that more grant programs that focus on Science and Technology education must be promoted.
On peacebuilding, particularly in Mindanao, Secretary Del Rosario said the Japan-Bangsamoro Initiative for Reconstruction and Development (J-BIRD) advanced the Mindanao peace process by directly addressing poverty challenges and development gaps in Southern Philippines. “To ensure that we continue to generate peace dividends, we welcome Japan’s recent initiatives under the Comprehensive Capacity Development Project for the Bangsamoro,” he added.
At the panel discussion following his remarks, the Secretary pointed out that Japan has greatly contributed to peace and development and thus for the next decades the ODA “should concentrate on training new, young, and morally upright leaders for peace-building and development, particularly in Mindanao under the proposed Bangsamoro Political Entity.” He added that given the challenge of mega disasters as the new normal, the need to have a disaster resilient country must be acknowledged and “to this end, there is therefore the need to embed disaster resilient financing as an element in ODA.”
Japan celebrates this year the 60th anniversary of its ODA initiated by its accession to the Colombo Plan in 1954. Under the theme; “Growth and Poverty Reduction: The Role of Japan’s ODA,” the Symposium provided the opportunities to look back 60 years of Japan’s cooperation and examine its fruits and values, as well as to discuss the role of Japan’s international cooperation in the new era.
Japan is the Philippines’ foremost bilateral development partner. As of June 2014, Japan has provided US$3.63 billion worth of ODA representing the largest share (28.6 percent) of the Philippines’ total ODA portfolio. Japanese ODA has directly contributed to Philippines’ development efforts across a wide range of priority areas, including irrigation, flood control, education, health care, earthquake detection, rural road network construction and improvement, water supply, and livelihood programs. In the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda, Japan was among the first to provide emergency assistance to the Philippines, continues to play a major role in the reconstruction effort through the Yolanda Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan.
Secretary Del Rosario visited Tokyo from November 16 to 17 as guest of the Japanese Government for the 60th anniversary celebration of Japan’s ODA. He spoke on the subject “History of Development and Challenges of the Philippines: How Did Japan’s ODA Affect the Growth of the Philippines?” The other invited speakers were Dr. Akihiko Tanaka, President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA); Mr. Michael Kamau, Cabinet Secretary of Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Kenya, and Dr. John Page, Senior Fellow, Global Economy and Development, the Brookings Institution.
Before attending the symposium the Secretary joined Philippine Ambassador to Japan and Madame Manuel M. Lopez and the entire Embassy personnel for the Monday flag-raising ceremony and informal meeting.
The Secretary’s remarks is quoted in full below:
HON. ALBERT F. DEL ROSARIO
SECRETARY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
PANEL DISCUSSION: “60 YEARS OF JAPAN ODA AND ITS FUTURE”
“HOW DID JAPAN’S ODA AFFECT THE GROWTH OF THE PHILIPPINES”
17 NOVEMBER 2014 (MONDAY), 2:00-2:55 P.M.
IINO HALL, CHIYODA-KU TOKYO
PHILIPPINES-JAPAN DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP: INVESTMENTS IN GOVERNANCE AND INNOVATION FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH
Introduction
JICA President Akihiko Tanaka,
Hon. Michael S. M. Kamau, Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Kenya (Ministerial-level Representative for Africa),
Mr. John Page, Brookings Institution as Senior Intellectual on Dev’t Cooperation,
Our Ambassador to Japan Manuel Lopez and colleagues from the Philippines,
Government, Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and JICA,
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for the kind invitation and wonderful introduction.
The partnership between the Philippines and Japan is at its best. It is comprehensive, modern and strategic.
A Strategic Partnership
This Strategic Partnership permeates all aspects of our strong bilateral relations. It is underpinned by our shared values of democracy, respect for human rights, liberal market principles, and adherence to the rule of law.
Our deep engagements in political-security matters and people-to-people exchanges are fully echoed in our economic ties, which are robust and dynamic. Japan is the Philippines’ only bilateral free trade partner through the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement of 2006. This has made Japan the Philippines’ top trading partner in the last four years, and the third largest source of both foreign direct investments and tourist arrivals.
ODA as Tool for Development
This vibrant economic relationship is complemented by enduring development cooperation. Japan is consistently the Philippines’ number one bilateral ODA partner. I take this opportunity to convey that we are deeply grateful for Japan’s steadfast support for over six decades.
Japanese ODA has directly contributed to the Philippines’ development efforts across a wide range of priority areas, including maritime cooperation, peace-building, governance, education, healthcare, infrastructure, agriculture, livelihood programs, and youth leadership training programs.
As the Philippine government continues to pursue inclusive growth, ODA has become instrumental in filling the financing gap for development and poverty reduction that has beset the Philippines and many other developing countries.
ODA, Japanese Style
Japan has always played a significant role in the Philippines’ development story. It is the quality of Japan’s assistance to the Philippines that truly sets it apart from other development partners.
Our experience with Japan’s ODA program is that it genuinely takes into account domestic development priorities, tailor-fitting its development framework to the beneficiary’s capacity and potential. This is consistent with Japan’s pragmatic philosophy and approach to development assistance, known as the twin principles of “self-help” and “country ownership” under Japan’s ODA Charter.
Japan’s adherence to these principles over the years and its continued commitment to supporting its beneficiaries’ own domestic development efforts cemented its reputation as a responsible ODA provider and a genuine development partner.
Sustaining Growth of Developing Countries
ODA programs, to be truly responsive and meaningful, must take into account relevant factors that profoundly impact not only on a country’s pace of growth and development, but also on the well-being of an individual or a community.
The harmful effects of climate change, for example, threaten to cause major disruptions in ongoing measures to raise productivity and enhance growth in typhoon-prone areas.
The Philippines deeply appreciates Japan’s assistance in combating the effects of natural disasters and climate change. Japan was among the first to provide emergency assistance to the Philippines in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda almost a year ago. Aside from its generous humanitarian assistance, Japan continues to provide support under the Yolanda Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan which aims to ‘build back better’ climate and disaster-resilient communities. We are completing our study on the best practices on the Haiyan experience and we will be happy to share it during the forthcoming 3rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) in Sendai, Japan in March 2015.
Urban decay worsens urban poverty, and the lack of adequate infrastructure has a limiting effect on the opportunities that can free families from the shackles of poverty.
Most recently, Japan has assisted the Philippines in formulating a Transportation Roadmap for the Sustainable Development of Metro Manila. This comprehensive plan will benefit not only the general riding public but will also have positive “spill over effects” for economic sectors such as tourism, agriculture, trade and industry through more efficient transportation and the development of new townships.
Investing in Governance Reforms
For countries such as the Philippines, ODA can be used to upgrade and modernize public institutions and the entire civil service through institutional capacity building.
ODA can also be utilized to help the government rationalize and streamline its operations to make its processes more effective and efficient, attuned to 21st century governance. Indeed, the program benefits become substantial when strong institutions exist to implement ODA projects. We therefore welcome more innovative program partnerships with the Japanese Government that will ensure the irreversibility of our reform agenda.
Investing in Innovation and Human Capital Development
Human capital development through assistance in education and training, especially in science and technology, fosters the needed innovation and creativity to increase the skills, knowledge, and productivity of Filipino workers and the new labor entrants.
This strategy becomes an imperative as the Philippines enters its so-called demographic sweet spot in 2015, when majority of its population, with a median age of 22 years, enters the workforce. Grant programs, therefore, that focus on Science and Technology education must be promoted.
Perhaps it is high time to consider a comprehensive agreement on Science and Technology that considers ODA as one of the funding mechanisms.
Separately, vocational-technical or VocTech training programs for new entrants and for skills upgrade should be further considered as part of our cooperative activities under our human capital development.
We hope to improve our competitiveness by building a more productive and creative workforce. For this purpose, we will request more cooperation with Japan in R&D investments.
For instance, one way to do this is to pursue an exponential increase in scholarship grants in science and technology and in engineering.
The Changing Face of Poverty
In addition to investing in human capital development, ODA must also respond to the changing face of poverty. We now find, fourteen years after the Millennium Development Goals were launched, that poverty has become almost an intractable development issue in the age of globalization.
I therefore commend Japan’s many contributions to MDGs, including its Global Health Diplomacy, which provides access to health care services to marginalized communities.
Despite tremendous economic gains that have been made in many countries due to globalization, it is evident that poverty remains an intractable problem.
The scourge of poverty afflicts millions, not only in poor countries, but also in middle income and higher growth economies. On top of this, poverty is exacerbated by the increased severity of climate change-induced disasters.
I believe, therefore, that ODA must continue to target poverty alleviation as an effective means for addressing social inequality and promoting sustainable development.
ODA and Peace-Building
Through vital initiatives such as the Japan-Bangsamoro Initiative for Reconstruction and Development or J-BIRD, Japan has done its part in advancing the Mindanao peace process by directly addressing poverty challenges and development gaps in Southern Philippines
To ensure that we continue to generate peace dividends, we welcome Japan’s recent initiatives under the Comprehensive Capacity Development Project for the Bangsamoro.
These initiatives support the Bangsamoro Development Plan, a six-year roadmap, from 2014 to 2019, that provides a short-, medium- and long-term vision and strategy for the development of the Bangsamoro region. We thank Japan and our other development partners for strongly supporting this plan.
Conclusion
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Throughout its 60-year history, Japan’s official development assistance continues to help build and transform nations. Japanese ODA has contributed, in one way or another, to the development of nearly every Asian nation, including the Philippines.
As the most dynamic region, Asia’s dramatic reduction of poverty incidence in such a short span of time, and the growing prosperity of Japan’s many development partners such as the Philippines are proof-positive to Japan’s enduring commitment to Asia’s continued growth and development.
But Japan’s ODA must continually adapt to the changing needs of the times.
At this juncture, let me reiterate: that the quality of Japan’s assistance to the Philippines truly sets it apart from other development partners.
As Strategic Partners and close friends, Japan and the Philippines should continue to pursue an inclusive growth agenda that effectively put our peoples at the center of development.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The future of the Philippines-Japan partnership, 60 years and beyond is full of infinite, promising possibilities. From these possibilities, let us prioritize what is best for our peoples and our shared future.
Thank you very much.
END