Japan, ILO, BARMM inaugurate Maguindanao water system

THE Embassy of Japan’s Economic Minister Masahiro Nakata joined Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’s Labor and Employment Minister Romeo K. Sema, Mayor Renalbert O. Insular and International Labour Organization (ILO) Country Director Khalid Hassan in a ceremonial handover of a Level-ii water system to the Timanan Central Elementary School (TCES) in South Upi, Maguindanao.

More than 1,000 children and hundreds of households in the locale will benefit from the water facility. To generate employment during these challenging times, people in the community were engaged in its construction. In addition, the South Upi local government unit and the TCES Parents and Teachers’ Association were trained on the operations and maintenance of the unit. These undertakings will ensure ownership and sustainability of the project.

This initiative is under the Ilo-japan Water and Sanitation Project in the Bangsamoro Region, signed on March 6, 2019. The ILO intervention envisions developing a water infrastructure that will benefit an estimated 11,814 households in the area.

According to the embassy, while the overall goal of this undertaking is peace and development in Mindanao, it will also contribute toward the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 6 on clean water and sanitation, as well as Goal 8 on decent work and economic growth.

Around 1,750 informal-sector workers in Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Cotabato City and 63 barangays in North Cotabato were provided emergency employment with social protection. To ensure safety and health of workers, 70 handwashing facilities were established in the work sites, workers were taught proper hygiene, with pandemic-responsive occupational safety and health protocols in place.

Since 1974, Japan has had a longstanding cooperation with the ILO. The Asian country has supported a number of ILO projects on disaster response, sustainable livelihood, peace and security, as well as local economic development in the Philippines, among others.