LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – A total of 174 vegetable farmers in Benguet who suffered losses from a series of weather disturbances in July received indemnity checks from the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) on Thursday.
The PCIC handed a total of PHP1.95 million in insurance payments to beneficiaries during a distribution event at the Benguet Provincial Engineering Office, attended by the agency’s officials and Senator Francis Pangilinan, chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture.
One of the beneficiaries, Dinah Labi, who maintains a one-hectare lettuce farm, said the assistance would help her settle loans she incurred to recover from the damage.
“About 90 percent of my crops, which were already at the matured stage, were damaged by the continuous rains brought by typhoons Crising, Dante, and Emong, as well as the southwest monsoon,” Labi said in Filipino.
She received the assistance after registering with the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) and PCIC through the help of the municipal agriculture office and her barangay.
Labi urged fellow farmers to also register, noting that the process is free and the benefits outweigh any doubts.
PCIC president lawyer Jovy Bernabe, in his message, acknowledged the need to raise awareness, noting that while 60,000 farmers in the Cordillera are listed in the RSBSA, only 12,000 are PCIC-registered.
“Maybe they do not yet see the benefits or still lack trust. Those of you receiving indemnity checks today, please tell your neighbors about this program and encourage them to enroll because it is free,” Bernabe said.
He added that nationwide, only 35 percent of farmers are registered with PCIC despite some 8 million having insurable interests.
Meanwhile, Pangilinan in his message vowed to push for the extension of PCIC’s corporate life, which is set to expire in three years.
He also vowed to work for a bigger budget allocation for the agency to better support farmers who remain vulnerable to weather-induced crop damage. **Liza Agoot
