Japan-funded training center launched in ARMM

COTABATO CITY – Officials from Japan and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao held a groundbreaking rite here Monday for the construction of the P28.8-million their Friendship Hall and Training Center (FHTC), drawing public applause on what host leaders described as a sign of sustained Japan-Philippines strong diplomacy.

Japanese Deputy Chief of Mission Minister Motohiko Kato led the formal ceremony assisted by ARMM Executive Secretary Naguib Sinarimbo.

The construction of the training center is financed through the Counter-value Fund of Japan’s Non-Project Grant Aid for the Philippines and part of Japan’s commitment to help enhance the ARMM government’s human resource capacity, Sinarimbo said.

Aside from housing the ARMM Development Academy (ADA), which takes lead in the ARMM’s human resource development, the JAFHTC will serve as venue to a lineup of activities primarily aimed at the human resource development of ARMM.

About 90 trainings, workshops and seminars are set to be held at the training center once it is completed, according to a press release from the Embassy of Japan.

Kato reaffirms “Japan’s continuous commitment and friendship to support efforts of the ARMM government to achieve sustainable development.”

He said “Japan considers its assistance for Mindanao to be one of the three main pillars of its ODA [Official Development Assistance] for the Philippines” and the assistance that their country provides to ARMM is one of the three main development objectives of their assistance policy for Mindanao.

ARMM Acting Governor Ansaruddin Adiong conveyed the gratitude and appreciation of the people of ARMM to Japan for its unrelenting support.

He said this latest Japan-funded project instills an “overwhelming hope and excitement” to the regional government in view of the “beneficial activities” that will be held in it.

Japan remains one of the main donor countries providing ODA to ARMM.

Last month alone, the region has witnessed a litany turnover rites for strategic infrastructure projects financed by the Government of Japan.

Moreover, the ARMM Social Fund Project (ASFP) – the biggest poverty-alleviation project in ARMM – is funded, in part, by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Sinarimbo tags the JAFHTC as an icon of the mutual cooperation and partnership between Japan and the ARMM.

He said the building will be a “modern and convenient infrastructure” that would help improve the region’s human capacity. (Edited by AGM, BPI-ARMM)

P14.30 daily wage hike mulled in ARMM

COTABATO CITY – Labor authorities of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) have assured to raise daily minimum wage by at least P14.30 for workers in the two cities and five component provinces of the region.

ARMM’s Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) regional secretary Myra Alih said her agency would undergo after the May 10 elections a series of consultations for the local labor forces’ demand for wage increase this year.

Speaking at Labor Day celebration here on May 1, clarified that the proposed wage hike has no definite ceiling but it will not be more than P14.30 just to augment the wages of our workers.

The ARMM’s celebration of the Labor Day was also highlighted by the awarding of summer job qualifiers under the Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) program for 1,525 students in the entire region.

Alih said that 440 licensed nurses are now ready for deployment to the rural areas in all component provinces of the ARMM under the Nurses Assigned in Rural Services (NARS) program.

She said the Youth Employment and Migration (YEM) Program was also in progress to cater to concerns of out-of-school youth in the region.

Alih commended the local and international companies in the ARMM for providing more job opportunities to skilled workers in the region.

With the theme “Manggagawang Pilipino, Kaagapay sa Pagbabago,” the Labor Day fete here also acknowledged the substantial contributions of private establishments in the region by awarding them certificates as most outstanding private establishments and employees/workers.

Regional executive secretary Naguib Sinarimbo graced the local celebration, lauding the regional labor force’s “cooperative” stance with the pace of development in ARMM.

“As we in the public sectors remember the importance of this day, we also hope that our social partners would also do a recollection and reaffirmation of the belief that labor rights and standards of work need not be sacrificed at the altar of business and economic development,” Sinarimbo said.

Sinarimbo and Alih underscored the adoption of focused policies and strategies on labor concerns by the present ARMM leadership under acting Regional Governor Ansaruddin Adiong as a part of its regional strategic plan aimed at bringing the region to greater heights.

The celebration activities included a parade, parlor games; jobs fair; awarding of outstanding private establishments and outstanding employees/workers in the region; and Cultural Presentation. (Ali G. Macabalang)