By: Sophia Pacheco
Photo source: Presidential Communications Office (PCO)
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) expressed its desire to collaborate with the Philippines on disaster risk reduction and climate resilience, with the goal of funding projects and improving the country's natural disaster response, on Wednesday, Nov. 20.
JICA is one of the country's main providers of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to the Philippines, sponsoring several of the Marcos administration's flagship infrastructure projects.
President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. welcomed JICA President Dr. Tanaka Akihiko, emphasizing the two countries' long-standing partnership.
“JICA has always been the important partner for the Philippines, it started only with infrastructure but now you have also expanded into other areas so we hope we can continue, especially the green projects we have now." Marcos said.
JICA President Akihiko said that the primary driving force behind this collaboration is that both countries share the same fate of monsoon typhoons.
“As a country sharing a similar fate of having monsoon typhoons, the recent experience forced us to continue our collaborative work in disaster risk reduction,” JICA President Akihiko said.
President Marcos Jr. also stated that among the country's primary concerns are flood control and water management as a result of the massive flooding caused by recent storms, and emphasized the importance of JICA's participation in the country, which will provide aid in areas ranging from infrastructure to "green projects".
“It started only with infrastructure, but now you have also expanded into other areas. We hope we can continue, especially the green projects we have now,” Marcos added.
JICA has significantly aided the Philippines' development for over six decades, promoting cooperation between Japanese and Philippine companies, strengthening public-private partnerships, and fostering economic growth in various sectors.
PH situation in climate change
According to Climate Central scientist and meteorologist Daniel Gilford, the recent typhoons that caused devastation on the country were caused by human-induced climate change.
He also mentioned that four typhoons including Marce (international name Yinxing), Nika (Toraji), Ofel (Usagi) and Pepito (Man-Yi) were active in the Western Pacific Ocean at the same time in November.
“These elevated ocean temperatures increased the chance of rapid intensification for each storm, compounding their collective impacts,” Gilford said.
Super Typhoon Pepito (Man-Yi) was the strongest of the four, driven by rising ocean temperatures caused by climate change.
“The climate shift index ocean tool, which quantifies the influence of climate change on sea surface temperatures, indicates that these warm ocean temperatures were made up to 40 times more likely by human-caused climate change,” Gilford noted.
Last Tuesday, Nov. 19, the House of Representatives approved Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar's proposal for the "Free Transportation of Relief Goods Act," which requires free freight services to transport relief items and donations to declared disaster areas.
Villar also underlined the humanitarian aspect of allowing freight forwarders, carriers, and other businesses to provide free logistical assistance to relief organizations carrying relief products and donations.