Japan extends $150-M aid package to ARMM

The Japanese government announced yesterday a $150-million aid package to boost peace and economic development in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The aid package, consisting of low-interest loans and grants to be disbursed over five years, is the largest portion of a $400-million Japanese aid program for Mindanao, said Japanese Ambassador Kojiro Takano.

The aid projects for the ARMM will include a 105-kilometer road, health centers, school facilities, computers and training of agricultural technicians.

ARMM Gov. Parouk Hussin welcomed the aid for his war-torn region, which has the highest poverty, lowest literacy and highest infant mortality rates in the country.

Hussin said budgetary constraints were hampering national government assistance to the five-province region. — Efren Danao