Manila, February 4 (AseanAll) — Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro and Ambassador ENDO Kazuya of the Embassy of Japan signed and exchanged the diplomatic notes on the Second Supplemental Loan for the Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3) Rehabilitation Project.
The ceremony was held on 4 February 2026 at the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, where Secretary Giovanni Lopez from the Department of Transportation (DOTr) of the Philippines, and officials from the Department of Finance (DOF) of the Philippines and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) were present.
The loan from the Government of Japan, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), amounts to PHP 8.1758 billion (approximately JPY 21.634 billion). The project is targeted for completion in October 2029.
Lazaro said that the project “builds on the strong foundation of our existing cooperation with Japan,” and “reflects our shared commitment to ensuring that public transport systems are safe, reliable, and resilient.” She added that the project supports President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr’s agenda of enhancing MRT services under the Build Better More (BBM) infrastructure program.
The project covers the restoration of MRT3 to its original as-designed condition, ensuring high-grade infrastructure performance and enabling future capacity expansion, through comprehensive rehabilitation and upgrading of critical components.
