The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) signed last week a 329 million yen grant to further development of human resources in the Philippines.

The Project for Human Resources Development Scholarship (JDS) is part of the Government of Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) to the Philippines that aims to help develop young leaders in government and boost efforts in socioeconomic development.

NEDA Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua and JICA Philippines Chief Representative Azukizawa Eigo signed the grant agreement for the JDS.

“The JDS is symbolic of the trusted partnership between JICA and the Philippines particularly in developing human resources who will eventually become leaders in policy and governance in Philippines,” said Azukizawa.

The grant will provide scholarships to Filipino government officials and give them opportunity to learn from the Japanese experience and expertise in leading universities in Japan.

Since its inception in 2002, the program has sent 399 Filipinos to leading Japanese universities such as University of Tokyo, International University of Japan, Hokkaido University, Hiroshima University, and Hitotsubashi University to name a few.

NEDA has noted the human capital index of the Philippines in 2020 at 0.52.

The pandemic, NEDA said, underscored the need to enrich human capital and help more Filipinos realize their full potential, especially those who aspire to become leaders in development.

“JDS scholars learn from Japan’s best universities and institutions and eventually become ambassadors of goodwill between our nations. With COVID-19 imposing challenges in human capital development, the JDS is an opportunity for both our countries to build on our partnership and collectively develop a talent pool of future leaders who can contribute to inclusive growth and development,” added Azukizawa.

Notable Filipino JDS scholars served as key-decision makers in their respective government agencies such as Department of Interior and Local Government, Development Bank of the Philippines, and the National Economic and Development Authority, among many others.

JICA is the executing agency of Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA), which handles technical cooperation, ODA loans and investment,

and grant aid, as well as cooperation volunteers and disaster relief programs.

JICA is the world’s largest bilateral aid agency with its scale of operations amounting to about $16.69 billion for Japanese fiscal year 2020 and a worldwide network of almost 100 overseas offices, including the Philippines. JICA Philippines