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On Wednesday, Third Secretary Yumi Yamada of the Embassy of Japan attended the turnover ceremony of the “The Project for the Construction of Level II Potable Water System at Barangay Banawel, Natonin, Mountain Province.”

Approved in 2017, the project is part of Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) through the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP).

Many residents in Brgy. Banawel, Natonin live remotely from available water sources. It takes roughly three hours a day to fetch water from the nearby spring source.

During the dry season when communal water sources dry up, the residents would have no other recourse but to use water from agricultural irrigation canal, which posed grave heath concerns.

To address this issue, the Embassy of Japan provided a grant amounting to $79,771 or approximately 4 million pesos to the local government unit of Natonin.

The grant covered the construction Level II potable water system in Barangy Banawel. In her message during the ceremony, Third Secretary Yamada expressed her hope that the year-round easier access to safe water has created the living conditions free from worries of contracting water-borne diseases, lessened the burden of fetching water from far away and allowed residents in Brgy. Banawel have more time to engage in productive activities for community development.

As the top ODA donor for the Philippines, the Government of Japan launched the GGP scheme in the Philippines in 1989 to reduce poverty and help various communities engage in grassroots activities.

At present, 553 grassroots projects have been implemented by the GGP. Japan believes that these projects will strengthen the friendship between Japan and the Philippines and contribute to sustaining strategic partnerships between the two countries. Japan Information and Culture Center