Japan lauded as biggest donor to Phl development

Japan is the biggest, most generous donor to Philippine development, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said.

“I praised Japan as the biggest most generous donor to Philippine development; no other country comes even close to Japan’s gold standard ODA,” Locsin tweeted.

The Philippines and Japan celebrated on Tuesday the 63 years of the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Locsin and Japanese Ambassador Koji Haneda exchanged notes on key projects in the Philippines and ASEAN in simple rites at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

The two officials exchanged notes on the official development assistance (ODA)-supported Project on the Septage Management of Metro Cebu Water District and the regime of Privileges and Immunities for the ASEAN-Japan Technical Cooperation Agreement (TCA).

“In a joint press event with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo, President Duterte paid high compliments to Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA), called it the “gold standard” by which the Philippines reckons its development cooperation with other partners. None will dispute the tribute,” Locsin said during the event.

“Whether in terms of Japan’s reliability as a partner for bridging gaps in our infrastructure investment and financing needs, concessionality of terms, or the quality and impact of resulting projects, Japanese ODA is unrivalled. Visible signs of the Philippines-Japan development partnership dot our cityscapes and the countryside,” he added.