The Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) has initially estimated an indemnity of P93.8 million to compensate farmers in three regions for damage caused by Typhoon Julian.

In his report to Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr., PCIC President Jovy Bernabe said that a total of 10,781 insured farmers of rice, corn, and high-value crops from the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Region I, and Region II will be indemnified by the insurance company.

“We need to immediately indemnify our farmers to restore their financial health so they can quickly recover from this calamity. Fast-tracking the release of their insurance claims will foster confidence in the PCIC among our farmers and encourage more investors in agriculture,” said Secretary Tiu Laurel.

Of the farmers insured with the PCIC, 6,585 are from Region I, 2,355 from CAR, and 1,841 from Region II. Two-thirds of the damage, estimated at P62.3 million, was assessed in Region I, with damage to rice farms accounting for about P51.3 million.

Region I comprises Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, and Pangasinan, while Region II includes Batanes, Cagayan, Isabel, Quirino, and Nueva Vizcaya.

“We have also issued strict instructions to our staff to assist affected farmers and speed up the processing of their damage claims,” Bernabe told Secretary Tiu Laurel. ###