Philippine Envoy Joins Sendoff For Japan Disaster Relief Team Supporting Navotas Fire Response
Philippine Ambassador to Japan Mylene J. Garcia-Albano (seated, left), Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Arfiya ERI (seated center), and JICA Senior Vice President Yuho HAYAKAWA (seated right) and the Japan Disaster Relief (JDR) expert team (standing at back) who will be deployed to the Philippines in response to the Navotas Sanitary Landfill fire on 23 April 2026.
Philippine Ambassador to Japan Mylene J. Garcia-Albano participated in a sendoff ceremony for Japan’s Disaster Relief (JDR) expert team that will provide technical support in response to the fire at the Navotas Sanitary Landfill on 23 April 2026 at the Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The seven-member team, composed of personnel from the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, the National Institute for Environmental Studies, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), will depart for Manila this afternoon.
“We value Japan’s support in ongoing efforts to assess, contain, and extinguish the fire that has adversely affected air quality and required the temporary evacuation of nearby communities. We are confident that, with your team’s expertise, this emergency will be brought under control swiftly and will no longer pose a risk to public health,” Ambassador Garcia-Albano remarked in her message to the JDR team.
Ambassador Garcia-Albano (standing) expresses gratitude to the Japanese government for the deployment of the JDR expert team.
The sendoff ceremony was attended by Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Arfiya ERI.
“We extend our sincere wishes for the safety and well-being of Japan’s disaster relief team as they embark on this important mission, which reaffirms the strong bond between the Philippines and Japan as we commemorate the 70th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations this year,” Ambassador Garcia-Albano conveyed to the expert team.
Ambassador Garcia-Albano (left) greets the members of the JDR expert team led by Mr. Naofumi YOKOTA (joining virtually from Manila).
