THE Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) recently conducted the first regional briefing on its Country Assistance and Rolling Plan (CARP) for Mindanao at the Convention Hall, NEDA-RDC 11 Center, Bangkal, Davao City.
The JICA team was led by Masafumi Nagaishi, senior representative from the JICA Philippine office. Joining the team were Akiko Abe, country officer for Southeast Asia based at JICA Tokyo headquarters, and JICA program officers from the JICA Davao field office led by Akira Goto. The briefing was attended by twenty five participants from the national government agencies, state universities and colleges, and local government units of the Davao Region.
Regional director Maria Lourdes D. Lim of NEDA 22 said that the briefing was an offshoot of the recently ratified Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) between the Philippine and Japanese governments and for JICA to brief the NEDA regional offices on the thrusts of JICA after its merger with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) in October 2008. She added that Davao Region is fortunate to host the first regional briefing for the JICA’s Country Assistance Program and Rolling Plan. She said that this kind of briefing is usually conducted at the national level.
During the briefing, Nagaishi stressed that JICA’s assistance will focus on conflict affected areas of Mindanao. He said that the assistance involves three pillars, namely: Sustainable Economic Growth aimed at creating employment opportunities, poverty reduction, and peace and stability in Mindanao.
Director Lim responded that these three pillars are in line with the goals of the region as spelled out in the updated Davao Region Development Plan (DRDP), 2008-2010 for increased job creation through economic growth, enhanced social development with direct poverty measures and good governance for attaining peace stability and human security.
Nagaishi invited the participants to submit their proposals to JICA for consideration through the NEDA Regional Office 11 or the JICA Davao field office. The NEDA regional office here evaluates project proposals for funding by donor agencies, which include JICA and the Embassy of Japan, through its grassroots grant assistance programs. The project evaluation report of NEDA serves as the main basis in the endorsement of the proposals by the Regional Development Council (RDC) 11. Proposals costing P500 million or above are further evaluated by the NEDA board investment and coordinating committee.
