This youth center in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao was built with funds from Japan. John Unson
MAGUINDANAO, Philippines – Japanese Ambassador Kazuhide Ishikawa on Tuesday turned over to residents of Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao a youth center built in support of the peace process in southern Mindanao.
The construction of the center was sponsored by the Japanese government, a major benefactor of the bilateral normalization thrusts of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao.
The facility, worth P5.1 million, will serve as a livelihood training center for Moro youth in Sultan Kudarat and surrounding towns in Maguindanao.
The MILF’s main enclave, Camp Darapanan, is located northwest of Sultan Kudarat town in the First District of Maguindanao.
The youth center project was implemented through the Japan-Bangsamoro Initiatives on Reconstruction and Development, J-BIRD, under the Japanese government’s Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects in the Philippines.
In a statement Wednesday, the MILF said it is thankful to Japan for helping sustain the socioeconomic and rehabilitation agenda of the Mindanao peace process.
The Japanese government had earlier funded the construction of a conference hall at Camp Darapanan and the two-storey Bangsamoro Leaders Management Institute building in Barangay Simuay, also in Sultan Kudarat.
Japan also has civilian representatives in the International Monitoring Team, which has been observing the enforcement of the 1997 Agreement on General Cessation of Hostilities between the government and the MILF since 2004.
The IMT also has military contingents from Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia, and non-uniformed conflict resolution experts from Norway and the European Union.
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Japan donates youth center to Maguindanao town – #JHedzWorlD
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