The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) vowed to continue supporting the development of Bohol Province as a disaster-resilient growth center in the Visayas.
JICA said this during the recent Bohol Resiliency Congress: Post Earthquake and Yolanda Assessment 2016 as part of the 3rd year commemoration of the 2013 Bohol Earthquake.
“JICA and Bohol’s development cooperation has grown year after year. From our early support to Bohol’s development plan in the 1970s to the recent disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) trainings of the local government and communities, Bohol proves to be a model showcase of a successful cooperation between Japan and the Philippines,” said JICA Senior Representative Takahiro Morita.
To further boost DRR in Bohol, JICA dispatched recently a group of LGU officials from the Municipality of Tubigon to train in Japan, including participants from Bohol’s Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) and Bohol Island State University (BISU).
The training is part of the on-going development cooperation Enhancement of Capacity for Participatory Disaster Management on Prevention, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery in the Municipality of Tubigon, Bohol (Bohorizon Project) being implemented by the Nagoya Institute of Technology (NITech) with the LGU of Tubigon and BISU. The delegates from Bohol visited Nagoya City Disaster Management and Measure Bureau Prevention Center, public schools, and public works office to study Japan’s disaster prevention measures and river engineering system.
Coinciding with the Bohol Resiliency Congress, JICA also witnessed the signing of the cooperation between BISU and NITech towards a knowledge exchange of students and researchers from both universities.
“Aside from DRR, JICA continues to share Japan’s knowledge and expertise with the people of Bohol through our dispatch of Japanese volunteers under the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) Program,” said Morita.
A former Japanese volunteer in Bohol led the establishment of the first Fabrication Laboratory (FabLab), a design platform that helps manufacturers, micro and small enterprises, and students translate their design ideas accurately.
Aside from support to DRR and to the local creative industry, JICA has initiated several cooperation projects in the province through an electrification project in Bohol’s farthest barangays, infrastructure such as the Bohol Circumferential Road and Arterial Road and the new Bohol Airport, as well as in the agriculture (establishment of Bohol Agriculture Promotion Center and irrigation systems) and special education sectors (opening of support center for children with disabilities through former JOCVs).
Local government officials from Tubigon, Bohol, staff from Bohol Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and faculty members from the College of Architecture of Bohol Island State University experienced a simulation of a magnitude 10 earthquake inside the facility of the Nagoya Municipal Minato Disaster Prevention Center. The group went to Nagoya for a training to further boost disaster risk reduction and management in Bohol.