JICA awards prestigious Japanese scholarship to 20 Filipino policymakers --- to study in Japan their various majors related to development challenges ---

The Government of Japan, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), is sending twenty Filipinos to pursue graduate studies at Japan’s foremost universities. This scheme is part of JICA’s Official Development Assistance (ODA), the Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship by Japanese Grant Aid, also known as JDS Project.

The new batch of JDS Fellows is represented by policymakers coming from multi-sectoral government institutions such as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB), Department of Finance (DoF), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Science and Technology – Industrial Technology Development Institute (DOST-ITD), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Ministry of Public Works of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Office of the President – Presidential Management Staff (OP-PMS), Philippine Board of Investments (BOI), Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), and University of the Philippines – Resilience Institute (UP-RI).

These young participants are recognized as “Ambassadors of Goodwill” who will lead the country towards its socioeconomic success, while acting as catalysts of change and fostering a stronger Philippines-Japan relations. “Remember that you are all part of something bigger than yourselves. So be patriotic. Be MAKABAYAN. Study hard!” said JICA Philippines Chief Representative SAKAMOTO Takema during the send-off ceremony.

Several dignitaries attended their send-off ceremony at His Excellency, Ambassador KOSHIKAWA Kazuhiko’s residence including Minister NIHEI Daisuke, along with the Secretaries from the Embassy of Japan, Undersecretary Joseph Capuno as well as Assistant Secretary Roderick Planta of NEDA, Director Princess Tomas-Tayao of the Department of Foreign Affairs, and Congressman HORIBATA Tsuyoshi from the House of Representatives.

“We are forever grateful for all the assistance you (Japan/JICA) are extending to the Philippines for all these years. The development initiatives implemented by Japan/JICA have impacted the lives of Filipinos across the country. We can rise above the storms because you are with us along the way,” said NEDA Regional Office 2 Senior Economic Development Specialist and Batch 21 JDS Fellow, Joel Unciano.

Japan is a rare example of a non-Western nation that successfully modernized while preserving its tradition and identity in a highly globalized world. Its experience enabled it to be a free, democratic, and peace-loving nation that actively shares its unique experience to partner countries through the JDS project and other development cooperation projects.

Patrick Cristobal, a Batch 17 JDS Fellow from DENR said, “Japan does not only enrich our technical know-hows but also complements our holistic experience of studying in a developed country with their rich culture and beautiful sceneries. We were able to share our challenges with other nationalities as developing nations pursuing sustainable development and learn the best practices from amongst us. These widened our perspectives on sustainable development.”

On its 21st year of implementation in the country, the JDS Project has served to be a robust platform for people-to-people exchange and human resource development. To date, there have been 439 Filipino recipients of the project who are responsible for spearheading the Philippines’ sustainable development in different fields.

For more information about the JDS Project, please visit this link: https://jds-scholarship.org/