November 12, 2025 | 4:11pm
MANILA, Philippines — Isabela Gov. Rodolfo Albano III, who caught the ire of citizens when he told his constituents to chill and pray during the typhoons, has admitted to asking President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to appoint his wife as the country’s ambassador to Japan so that his province could have easier access to Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) aid.
The Philippine Ambassador to Japan is Garcia-Albano, who also has an extensive history in law and politics.
In an interview on ANC, Albano explained his “chill” statements, talking about disaster response in Isabela.
Isabela is one of the largest provinces in the Philippines. It sits in Cagayan Valley, a region that often finds itself on the path of cyclones.
This is why, Albano reasoned, it made sense for his wife to be the ambassador to Japan. His province would have easier access to Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) studies.
“Nakakalamang nga kami sa Isabela. ‘Yun nga ‘yung hiningi ko sa presidente nung pag-upo niya kasi…gusto ko makuha ‘yung mga JICA studies para doon sa Cagayan,” Albano said.
(We do have an advantage in Isabela. That is what I asked for from the president when he sat down… because I wanted to get the JICA studies for Cagayan.)
Cagayan’s river basin has never received a JICA study, Albano claimed.
He admitted that it may be unfair, but Albano said that he would include other governors in the JICA studies.
Albano also said that he will be heading to Japan soon with his wife for a seminar on tsunami awareness. As of November 11, Albano is in Germany. He was absent for the duration of Super Typhoon Uwan (international name: Fung-Wong), leaving the vice governor to lead response efforts.
Asked about his closeness to the president, Albano said it was just a “request,” and that it was still up to Marcos to decide who to appoint.
JICA is Japan’s means of providing official development assistance (ODA) to developing countries such as the Philippines. An ODA can come in different forms, either through grants or loans.
Before an ODA loan is granted for a project, however, a feasibility study is undertaken.
Despite Albano’s claim that the Cagayan basin had never had a JICA study, the agency had already finished a feasibility study as early as 2002. The study was for a flood control project at the lower Cagayan River.
Under Albano’s term, the plan for the project was updated years later. On July 30, Albano and other local officials were presented with the Flood Control Master Plan for Cagayan River Basin. Philstar.com has reached out to the Palace for a comment, but they have yet to respond as of writing.
Asked for a response, the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines declined to comment. — with reports from Cristina Chi