INSURED farmers and fisherfolk who have been adversely affected by extreme weather disturbances that hit the country recently will now be indemnified to help rebuild their lives and livelihoods.
This was learned after the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) released the initial amount of P347 million for the indemnification. The payment represents the initial amount of P1.5 billion-worth of estimated damages reported by PCIC’s clients in PCIC’s seven administrative regions.
The release of the amount was in response to the strict order of Agriculture Secretary William Dar to the PCIC to quickly undertake verification and adjustment activities and release the indemnity funds accordingly.
The PCIC said the balance payment is in various stages of processing and will be released within 10 days following the completion of the required documents.
Damages were reported by around 121,000 insured farmers and fisherfolk whose rice, corn, high-value crops, livestock holdings, fisheries, and other assets supporting their operations were affected.
PCIC is the country’s only agricultural insurance firm. It is state-owned and operates as an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture.
It has been attending to the needs of farmers and fisherfolk that have been impacted by various adverse geological and climate events this year.
These include the Taal Volcano eruption in January and the series of typhoons in the past few months, namely Pepito, Quinta, Rolly, and Ulysses, that came with either extra-ordinary wind strength or unusual volume of rain that have caused severe flooding.
