Tokyo, Japan—Pinasalamatan ni Pangulong Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. ang pamahalaan ng Japan dahil sa pagtulong sa peace process sa Mindanao region.
Sa talumpati ng Pangulo sa courtesy call ng mga miyembro ng Japanese parliament, malaking tulong ang ginawa ng Japan sa hindi na mabilang na development assistance sa Pilipinas.
“It has been a critical part of our peace process. It is a process that we have been undertaking for many, many years and I think and finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, the participation of the Japanese support in that peace process has been invaluable,” pahayag ni Pangulong Marcos.
Tinukoy ng Pangulo ang Japan-Bangsamoro Initiatives for Reconstruction and Development (J-BIRD) program na may long-term support sa governance, decommissioning at socio-economic development.
Sinabi pa ng Pangulo na matagal nang supportive ng pamahalaan ng Japan ang peace process sa pamamagitan ng ibat-ibang mekanismo paarikular na ang International Monitoring Team (IMT), International Contact Group (ICG) at Independent Commission on Policing (ICP).
Base sa talaan mula 2002 hanggang 2019, umabot na sa 51 billion Japanese yen ang Official Development Assistance (ODA) ng Japan sa peace and development sa Mindanao.
Pinasalamatan din ng Pangulo ang pamahalaan ng Japan sa pagbibigay ng komportableng buhay sa mga Filipino.
“Our countrymen are unanimous in their expressions of their own gratitude for how they have been accepted into the workforce — of the Japanese workforce — and into the society, of the fabric of Japanese society,” pahayag ni Pangulong Marcos.
Nasa 300,000 Filipino ang naninirahan sa Japan.
Inimbitahan din ng Pangulo ang Japanese parliament na bumisita sa Pilipinas.
“Look at the effects of this support that you have been giving us, not only in Southern Philippines but all the many — especially infrastructure projects that Japan has supported over the years,” pahayag ng Pangulo.
Kasama sa mga dumalo sa pagpupulong sa Japan-Philippines Parliamentary Friendship League (JPPFL) sina dating Pangulong Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo; Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri; House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez; Special Assistant to the President, Secretary Antonio Ernesto Lagdameo Jr.; at Senator Mark Villar.
Sa panig ni JPPFL, dumalo naman sina Japanese House of Representatives Chairman Moriyama Hiroshi, Vice Chairmen Okuno Shinsuke, Takemi Keizo at Nakagawa Masaharu.