Crop insurance claims seen to reach P95 million

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) stands to pay P95 million in insurance claims for losses to rice and corn crops because of tropical storm “Ondoy.”

Agriculture Secretary and PCIC chairman Arthur Yap made the estimate after receiving reports from PCIC regional offices affected by the calamity.

PCIC claims adjusters are working double time to enable farmers to replant and catch up with the planting season.

Heaviest damage to rice and corn crops was recorded in Central Luzon with an estimated P40 million in crop insurance indemnities while the PCIC Southern Tagalog regional office expects to pay a total of P28 million in indemnities.

The other affected regions with their corresponding indemnity estimates are: Region 1, P6 million; Region 2, P5 million; and Region 5, P16 million.

The flooding caused by the abnormal rainfall dumped by tropical storm “Ondoy” came when most of the rice crops were in their late tillering stage while the corn crops were at flowering stage, making it difficult for the crops to recover from devastation.

The crop insurance program of the government enables farmers to recoup their crop production losses caused by natural calamities as well as plant pests and diseases.

Crop insurance serves as a collateral substitute for farmers who borrow from formal rural financial institutions such as cooperatives and rural banks.

Meanwhile, state-run Clark Development Corp. (CDC), Clark locators and the Philippine Air Force’s 600th Air Base Wing have raised more than P1 million for the victims of tropical storm Ondoy in Pampanga.

In a meeting, CDC president Benigno N. Ricafort gathered members of the Clark Investors and Locators Association (CILA) and representatives from the PAF to discuss how the Clark Freeport community could extend relief and financial assistance to communities affected by Ondoy’s onslaught.

“This collaboration is our way of showing the Clark community’s concern to those cabalens affected by the onslaught of Ondoy,” Ricafort said.

He added that almost all firms inside the Clark Freeport have their own distinct corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs “but the outreach program serves a collective effort of all members of the Clark community to address a single goal.”

Ricafort said CDC and the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) have each donated P250,000 while Cyber City Teleservices gave P100,000 for the typhoon victims.

Likewise, Peregrine Development International president Dennis Wright said his company will shell out P500,000. He added that Peregrine will also provide 20 volunteers and heavy equipment like bulldozers and dump trucks to help clear areas that have sustained damages.

Wright said Peregrine will tap the services of Jim Spore and Lee Thrasher, disaster management experts whose expertise have been used in Iraq and other calamity-stricken countries.    – With Ma. Elisa Osorio