CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has secured a $6.8-million grant from Japan to help build roads, deal with disasters, and tackle climate issues, mainly focusing on reducing flooding in the special Muslim-majority region.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced this on Tuesday, November 14, in a speech at the 1st BARMM Local Legislative General Assembly in Davao City.

He said the Philippines and Japan signed the diplomatic notes on the non-project grant aid (NPGA) for the acquisition of construction equipment. The equipment would be used for road network improvement and disaster quick response operation in the Bangsamoro region.

Marcos said this was signed during the Philippine visit of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida earlier in November.

Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo and Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koshikawa Kazuhiko signed the diplomatic notes on a non-project grant aid (NPGA) valued at some $6.8 million. 

Officials said the initiative seeks to support relief efforts during calamities, including restoring roads and bridges, while also addressing the impact of climate-related flooding in the area. 

The NPGA, a form of grant, is intended to assist developing nations by providing foreign currency funding for importing Japanese technology-oriented goods to address specific social or economic needs.

Marcos told BARMM officials that his administration has continued to seek international support especially from predominantly Muslim countries, for the Bangsamoro region.

“We have continued in our contacts around – in the trips that I have taken for the government, especially when we are talking to the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation), when we are talking to Malaysia, when we are talking to other Islamic countries, we continue to remind them that BARMM still needs their support. And I have to say to their credit that they have pledged that support and we will continue to support BARMM and that is an important part of the success that BARMM is going to have,” he said.

Marcos said the  initiatives would usher in a new era “where BARMM becomes a shining beacon of sustainable development in Mindanao and the rest of the Philippines.”

Greater cooperation

Marcos also expressed confidence about the prospect of enhanced cooperation, coordination, and convergence of endeavors in the region.

He said seven offices and mechanisms were now in place under the Inter-governmental Relations Body (IGRB) to strengthen and build on the synergy between the national and Bangsamoro governments as the region’s officials formulate policies, rules, and enforce regional laws. 

The mechanisms are the following:

• Philippine Congress-Bangsamoro Parliament Forum
• Intergovernmental Fiscal Policy Board
• Joint Body for the Zones of Joint Cooperation
• Intergovernmental Infrastructure Development Board
• Intergovernmental Energy Board
• Bangsamoro Sustainable Development Board
• Council of Leaders 

”The national and Bangsamoro governments will now have greater cooperation because of these offices that have now been established. We will have greater cooperation, greater coordination, and we will converge towards the realization of our shared endeavors,” Marcos Jr. said. – Rappler.com