A top official of the National Economic and Development Authority has been conferred a prestigious international award from a Japanese institution.
Neda Undersecretary for investment programming Rolando Tungpalan received the award from Japan International Cooperation Agency for his contributions in the delivery of countless Jica-assisted projects in the Philippines.
Tungpalan is the only Filipino among the 29 individuals selected from all over the world for the Jica Awards in the individual category. The awards, now on its 13th round, are given annually to individuals, projects and organizations in recognition of their long-standing contributions to Jica’s activities in Japan and overseas.
“Undersecretary Tungpalan has been instrumental in steering the partnership between the Philippine and Japanese governments to where it is today,” Susumu Ito, Jica Chief Representative in the Philippines said of Tungpalan at a ceremony held in Makati City.
At the awarding ceremony, Tungpalan was joined by other recipients of the Jica President Awards in the project category, including Public Works Secretary Mark Villar and Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Austere Panadero.
Tungpalan thanked Jica and said the award likewise “belongs to Neda, the institution that I have also served for four decades.”
Tungpalan, who started his career in public service in 1976, chairs the Investment Coordination Committee-Technical Board, the inter-agency committee of the Neda Board that screens public sector investments and infrastructure projects before these are elevated to the ICC-Cabinet Committee for approval.
The ICC-TB deliberates proposals and considers various options available to implement and finance a project.
“The projects that have been given awards today are testimonies of the impact that our cooperation has achieved in the last four decades,” Tungpalan said.
Jica also conferred the Jica Chief Representative Awards on former Public Works Undersecretary Raul Asis; Mary Mediatrix Villanueva, chairperson of the Dios Mabalos Po Foundation Inc.; Japan Agricultural Exchange Council; and the Philippine Rice Research Institute.