RP asks for $1.2 billion assistance from Japan

RP asks for $1.2 billion assistance from Japan

The Philippine government has asked Japan for a US$1.2 billion financing package under Tokyo's aid budget, finance officials said Sunday.

Socio-economic Planning Secretary Dante Canlas said the amount of official development assistance could be even higher depending on the "appraisal" being conducted by a team from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Support from Japan, the Philippines' largest bilateral creditor, remains intact despite earlier calls from by Japanese Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa for a 10 percent cut on the level of its official development assistance (ODA) to developing countries amid an economic downturn, Canlas said.

Canlas said he was hopeful the Philippines would be spared from the assistance cut, noting that there were indications that the Japanese team was open to the possibility of increasing the number of projects that would need assistance.

"This means that they are still interested on the Philippines with continuing ODA support," Canlas said.

For the current fiscal year ending March 2002, the Japanese government has earmarked 1,015.2 billion yen ($8.46 billion) for ODA.

The ODA money is used for a wide range of projects in developing countries, including fighting disease, building infrastructure, helping non-government organizations and developing human resources.

Included in the ODA list for Philippines is the $312 million financing package for the construction of a vital tollway to connect two former American military bases in the north that have been converted into investment enclaves. -- AFP