MAGUINDANAO (Mindanao Examiner / 23 May) – The Japan International Cooperation Agency is to launch a two–year grassroots study to assess the social, economic and development needs of the war-devastated areas in Mindanao.
The study is being conducted in areas under the control of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has been fighting for decades for the establishment of a strict Islamic state in the southern Philippines.
JICA said it would launch before the end of May quick impact projects in education, healthcare, water supply and economic improvement.
Sadako Ogata, JICA president, visited Mindanao island in September last year and pledged to help restore stability in Mindanao after more than three decades of war that left tens of thousands of people dead.
Philippine leader Gloria Arroyo opened peace talks with the MILF in 2001 in an effort to end the bloody fighting and develop Mindanao.
A formal agreement between the Philippine government and JICA followed in March and the agency then established a field office in Davao City with one Japanese staff member and five local personnel.
JICA continues to provide assistance to the Regional Government of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), particularly in the areas of medical care and agriculture as in previous years.
In March, five local officials were sent to Malaysia to study Halal, or Islamic food processing techniques.
JICA said it is dispatching new evaluation teams to help develop local industry and infrastructure. It is conducting community development field studies in both the ARMM and MILF areas through nongovernmental organizations and promoting cooperation frameworks in rice cultivation and livestock farming.
JICA has identified five priority areas and issues for assistance to the Philippines.
The first is enabling sustained development by reinforcing the country's economic structure and removing growth-restricting factors. This requires (1) proper macroeconomic management, (2) reinforcement of the industrial structure, and (3) improvements in the economic infrastructure, including energy, electricity, and transport.
The second is correction of disparities, specifically poverty alleviation and correction of regional disparities. Particular importance is being given to (1) rural development and (2) improvement of basic living conditions. The latter involves enhancing health and medical services, improving water supply, and assistance for vulnerable members of society.
The third is environmental conservation and disaster prevention. The fourth is human resources development and institution building.
In concrete terms, this involves (1) enhancing access to primary and secondary education and improving the quality of the education provided; (2) upgrading IT-related technologies; and (3) administrative capacity building and institution building. And the fifth is aid for Mindanao. (With a report from Mark Navales)
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