The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) provides much-needed relief supplies to Northern Luzon which was left devastated by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake.

To aid affected communities in the north, JICA in collaboration with the Government of Japan is sending 100 pieces of camping tents, 500 pieces of sleeping pads, 100 rolls of plastic sheets, eight sets of generators with 16 pieces of cord reels, 16 pieces of conversion plugs, and 100 pieces of portable jerry cans/water containers.

JICA Chief Representative to the Philippines Sakamoto Takema expressed the deepest sympathies to the people affected by the earthquake, saying “Kasama niyo kami. Our thoughts are with those who suffered from this disaster. Acknowledging these are challenging times, we sincerely reaffirm our support to the Filipino friends. We have already decided to provide our disaster relief supplies and the Japanese experts already in the Philippines are willing to share their knowledge and experience with frontline government agencies involved in disaster management and recovery.”

“Filipinos are known for their resolve and spirit and we want to give our assurances that JICA’s collaboration with different agencies and local government units will be maximized to support the recovery and rebuilding,” said JICA Senior Representative Ebisawa Yo.

Japan and the Philippines are both disaster-prone nations, being both located on the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Over the years, JICA, as the natural partner, has been enthusiastically cooperating in the field of disaster management and resilience building to help the Philippines cope with natural disasters.

JICA seeks to explore more opportunities to contribute to the Philippines using its experience on disaster management in its cooperation with its Philippine counterparts. JICA Philippines