MANILA – The Embassy of Japan in the Philippines officially turned over food and livelihood assistance to beneficiaries in different communities in Cotabato, as part of sustaining peacebuilding and recovery efforts in the Bangsamoro region.

In a statement, the Embassy of Japan confirms the turnover of a fish truck and fifty ice boxes to the Datu Mantil Makangguna Association, as well as the installation of a solar-powered ice block making machine in Barangay Datu Binasing, and distribution of food assistance to the Datu Mantil Makangguna Women’s Association and their families in Barangay Datu Mantil in Pigcawayan, Cotabato.

According to the Embassy of Japan, the mentioned projects are part of the “Enhancing Food Security and Livelihood in Bangsamoro" – a collaborative initiative between the Government of Japan and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Philippines.

Japan has been contributing to the Mindanao Peace Process for more than 2 decades, with several projects having been implemented under the Japan-Bangsamoro Initiatives for Reconstruction and Development (J-Bird), with an overall assistance worth USD 515 million in more than 100 projects, the Embassy said.

The projects aim to enable the people and the communities in target areas to enjoy the “dividends of peace” through Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA), the Embassy added.

Earlier this year, the Japanese government turned over community assets under the same program and funded by the Japanese Supplementary Budget (JSB) for communities in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat and Datu Mantil in Pigcawayan, Cotabato.

(Photo courtesy of Embassy of Japan in the Philippines)

According to the Embassy of Japan, the USD 2.3 million project co-implemented by the UNDP, aims to address “the recent supply crisis and price inflation.”

“The project aims to ensure food security for sustaining the peacebuilding and recovery in the Bangsamoro region,” the Embassy said.