Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Endo Kazuya has lauded President Marcos for his foreign affairs policy in all areas, including the West Philippine Sea (WPS), according to Senator Raffy Tulfo.
Tulfo disclosed this information on Monday after Kazuya paid a courtesy visit in his office at the Senate of the Philippines in Pasay City.
As part of Japan’s support to the Philippines, Kazuya reiterated the promised USD 507-million Official Development Aid Loan under the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The fund will be used to purchase the additional five 97-meter-long multi-mission maritime patrol vessels for our Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
During their meeting, Tulfo—chairperson of the Senate Committee on Migrant Workers—inquired from Kazuya about the current condition of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Japan.
Japan is hosting about 230,000 Filipinos at present, most of whom are high-skilled experts working as nurses and engineers.
Also, as chairperson of the Senate Committee on Energy, Tulfo discussed with Kazuya his proposed Waste-to-Energy (WTE) bill.
Tulfo said WTE measures have long existed in Japan. In fact, he said he got inputs from the Japanese government to improve his proposed legislation.
On economic investment, Kazuya mentioned the financial incentives that investors in the Philippines receive from Japan.
“This is one way to entice Japanese investors to stay and bring in more businesses in our country,” Tulfo said.
Tulfo said he will discuss this concern in the Technical Working Group of the Committee on Ways and Means, where he sits as vice chairman.