November 17, 2018

Japan Signs Exchange of Notes to Support PH Air Force and MRT3 Rehab

Japan signs Grant Aid on Philippine Air Force (PAF) helicopters and the Maintainance on the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT3) as part of their official development assistance (ODA) projects.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. and Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koji Haneda signed the Exchange of Notes last November 7, 2018.

Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana and other officials were present as Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. and Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koji Haneda signs the Exchange of Notes

Adding to the list of the many support the Government of Japan has given the Philippines’s development activities, the latest ODA project is geared towards enhancing the country’s defense and transport capabilities.

Also read: Japan PM Abe pledges $8.7 billion worth of investments to Philippines

“There is no other agenda other than friendship, decency, and a deep and abiding regard, as much for the safety and well-being of neighbors, as for oneself,” Secretary Locsin noted how Japan has supported the Philippines’ development objectives as quoted from the Department of Foreign Affairs website.

In the agreement, ¥5.31 billion (around Php 2.46 billion) worth of spare parts and maintenance equipment is set aside for the UH-1H helicopters of the PAF. The helicopters are used in the PAF’s activities related to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, transport, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.

The maintenance equipment to be granted consists airframe structure, dynamic power system, control system, rotor system, hydraulic system, electrical system, instrument system, accessory equipment, and others.

Exchange of Notes states the Grant Aid of the Government of Japan to the Philippines of Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) UH-1H Parts and Maintenance Equipment to the Philippine Air Force (PAF), and on the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT3) Rehabilitation

Included in the Notes of Exchange is the Maintenance on the Metro Rail Transit Line 3, which involves the rehabilitation of MRT3 and the entire fleet of 72 Light Rail Vehicles (LRVs), including its restoration and general overhaul. ¥38-billion (around Php 17.79 billion) is set to cover the project to be completed in 43 months with the rehabilitation completed in the first 26 months.

The complete rehabilitation will include the railway line’s trains, power supply system, overhead catenary system, radio system, closed-circuit television system, public address system, signaling system, rail tracks, road rail vehicles, depot equipment, elevators and escalators, and other station-building equipment.

Celebrating their 62nd year of the Philippines-Japan Friendship this 2018, Japan has become the Philippines’s top ODA partner. Other ongoing joint projects include infrastructure, security, health, trade, tourism, human resources, agriculture, education, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief, among others.

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Sources: Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Transportation
Images courtesy of the Department of Foreign Affairs.