Manila gets loans from Tokyo for rehab of Ondoy-damaged infrastructure

The Philippines will receive loans from Japan to help rehabilitate infrastructure damaged by tropical cyclones “Ondoy" (Ketsana) and “Pepeng" (Parma) last year. Some P4.65 billion in loans from Japan will be used for " rehabilitating [the Philippines’] physical structures and assets and improving their carrying and load capacity, thereby hopefully mitigating the impact of future disasters," DFA Secretary Alberto Romulo said in an article posted on the DFA website (www.dfa.gov.ph). Filipino and Japanese officials signed the Exchange of Notes for the ¥9.912 billion ($109.8 million) rehabilitation project in a ceremony at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). “[The] vital package helps us lay the foundations for our climate-proofing efforts. This is a vital task, given that typhoons and extreme weather events can only be expected to increase in intensity and frequency as a result of climate change," he added. Romulo and Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Makoto Katsura signed the yen-loan package for the Post-Ondoy and Pepeng Short-Term Infrastructure Project. Witnesses included officials from the Department of Finance (DOF), the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the Special National Public Reconstruction Commission, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the Embassy of Japan. The Japanese government extended the assistance package in response to a request for aid for the Philippines’ recovery and reconstruction efforts in the wake of “Ondoy" and “Pepeng." The Department of Public Works and Highways will implement the projects. Romulo welcomed the latest Japanese assistance package, saying that is timely, especially in the light of ongoing efforts to remedy the widespread destruction by “Ondoy" and “Pepeng." He added this will help the country recover as well from other devastating hydrometeorological events that hit the country in 2009. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV