Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Donor agency remains upbeat on peace talks
SULTAN KUDARAT, Maguindanao -- Japan's largest aid agency expressed optimism on the peace negotiations between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and promised more funding support to conflict areas once a final peace agreement is achieved.
In her recent visit to Mindanao, Sadako Ogata, head of Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), expressed commitment to help the Philippine government pursue peace in Mindanao by supporting more development projects within and outside the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm).
"Our goal is to bring peace and community development but we need to involve more people, more communities in Mindanao," Ogata told local leaders and residents of Limbo, an interior barangay some 25 minutes south of Cotabato City.
Barangay Limbo is a recipient of a literacy center funded by Jica under the Progress Mindanao project of the Notre Dame Foundation for Charitable Activities Women in Enterprise Development (WED).
Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Ryuichiro Yamazaki accompanied Ogata and the 15-person Jica delegation here last week, which boosted Japan's role in mainstreaming the United Nations human security agenda in developing countries like the Philippines.
The delegation included senior economic advisers, regional planners and social development experts from Japan.
Jica's technical assistance to Mindanao addresses concerns related to poverty, health, environment protection, and infrastructure development.
Within the Armm, Jica has extended capacity-building assistance to the Bangsamoro Development Authority (BDA) through a series of organizational development trainings for the BDA and its partners.
The trainings were funded in cooperation with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (Opapp). Formed after the signing of the government-MILF agreement on relief and rehabilitation in 2001, the BDA is tasked to coordinate and implement projects in post-conflict areas.
"While we do emphasize the need to fully develop and rehabilitate Armm, we hope to move further beyond its borders by including other poor provinces in Mindanao so that we can achieve greater impact in our role in international development," Ogata stressed in her conversation with BDA officials, members and volunteers.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (September 26, 2006 issue)
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