The Congressional Oversight Committee on the Official Development Assistance (COCODA) Conducts Study Visit in Tokyo, Japan
From left to right: Ms. Carmelita Jimenez (Acting Secretary of the Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives,; Cong. Harlin Neil Abayon III (Aangat Tayo Party List), Mr. Eigo Azukizawa (Deputy Director General for Southeast Asia 5, 6 and the Pacific, Japan International Cooperation Agency), Mr. Shinya Ejima (Senior Vice President, Japan International Cooperation Agency), and Cong. Dakila Carlo Cua (Lone District of Quirino). Photo by Ms. Diane Bartolome
The Congressional Oversight Committee on the Official Development Assistance (COCODA) of the Philippine House of Representatives, represented by Cong. Dakila Carlo Cua of the Lone District of Quirino and Cong. Harlin Neil Abayon III of the Aangat Tayo Party List, conducted a study visit on Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) to the Philppines on 09 July 2018 in Tokyo, Japan.
COCODA met with officials from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) who briefed them on the current projects in the Philippines that fall under JICA’s priority areas: (1) strengthened infrastructure for sustainable growth; (2) ensuring human security for inclusive growth; and (3) peace and development in Mindanao.
COCODA also met with officials from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Ministry of Finance (MOF) and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) who briefed them on Japan’s recently revised Development Cooperation Policy for the Philippines as well as the Philippines-Japan bilateral cooperation in various fields, particularly infrastructure development, energy, improvement of living standards, public safety, information and communications, environment, agriculture, disaster risk reduction, and peace and development in Mindanao. Cong. Cua thanked the Japanese government for being the Philippines major development partner and assured them that Japan has made a smart investment in the Philippines.
COCODA met with Japanese government officials led by Ms. Yukiko Okano, Director, Country Assistance Planning Division I, International Cooperation Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (center); Mr. Hirotaka Ono, Deputy Director, Second Southeast Asia Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (second row); Mr. Yuji Yamashita, Director for International Strategies, Policy Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (third from right); and Ms. Mayumi Tomita-Sils, Senior Deputy Director, Office of Development Finance, International Bureau, Ministry of Finance (second from right). Photo by Mr. Toshifumi Ishida
COCODA visited a subway construction site near Shin-Yokohama Station in Kanagawa Prefecture. The construction technology used for the new subway line that will link Shin-Yokohama to Tokyo will also be applied to the construction of the Metro Manila Subway, one of the flagship projects under the Build, Build, Build infrastructure program. The Philippines and Japan signed the first tranche of the loan agreement amounting to JPY 104.530 billion for the partial operability of the Metro Manila Subway (Phase I) on 16 March 2018.
COCODA with officials from Japan Railway Construction Transport and Technology Agency (JRTT), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Philippine Embassy in Tokyo. Photo by Ms. Kanami Namiki
COCODA conducts a subway construction site visit near Shin-Yokohama Station in Kanagawa Prefecture. Photos by Ms. Diane Bartolome
Ambassador Jose C. Laurel V (center) hosted a Japanese-style dinner for Cong. Cua, Cong. Abayon and Ms. Jimenez. Ambassador Laurel was accompanied by First Secretary and Administrative Officer Leah Rodriguez (rightmost) and Second Secretary and Economic Officer Cassandra Sawadjaan (leftmost).
H.E. Jose C. Laurel V, Philippine Ambassador to Japan, hosted a dinner for COCODA. The dinner provided an opportunity to exchange views on Philippines-Japan relations, including the positive results of the study visit.
COCODA is mandated to conduct a debt audit on several contracted loans by the Philippine government by virtue of a special provision in the Republic Act 10924 or the 2017 General Appropriations Act. The study visit in Tokyo was aimed at understanding ODA procedures and status of ODA-funded projects from Japan. Japan remains as the Philippines’ largest source of bilateral ODA.
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