PH GETS 1.8-B YEN GRANT FOR VOCATIONAL TRAINING OF FORMER MILF REBELS

Japan has given the Philippines a 1.8-billion yen (over P713 million) grant to rebuild a vocational training center for ex-rebels in Marawi City and help rehabilitate the area flattened by armed conflict in 2017.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) and the state planning agency National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) signed the grant agreement for the program for urgent improvement of socioeconomic infrastructures in Bangsamoro region.

“The program will contribute to the support of former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) soldiers, helping them to build up vocational skills based on the needs of local industry. It will do so through the reconstruction of a vocational training center in Marawi City, Bangsamoro region and the provision of relevant equipment in the region as a whole,” the Japanese government’s aid arm Jica said in a June 9 statement.

The program to be implemented by Neda in Mindanao will run for 36 months. This program had also been identified as a priority by the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, Jica said.

Not only Marawi but also the bigger Bangsamoro region—including Cotabato City, as well as the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi—is targeted to benefit from this Jica-funded program.

Meanwhile, the latest Department of Finance-Bureau of Local Government Finance data on Friday showed that 16 local government units (LGUs) borrowed a combined P2.5 billion in May to roll out mostly infrastructure projects.

At the end of the first five months of 2022, a cumulative 102 LGUs sought a total of P17.1 billion in borrowings from government financial institutions.