Manila: The Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) is seeking an additional PHP1 billion fund to expand insurance coverage for Filipino farmers nationwide. 'The budget preparation is ongoing right now. Our proposal actually is to increase it by PHP1 billion,' stated PCIC President Jovy Bernabe during an interview on the sidelines of a partnership signing with Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
According to Philippines News Agency, the additional funding will bring the total budget to PHP7.5 billion, allowing the PCIC to extend its support and protection to a larger number of food growers across the rice, corn, and high-value crops sectors. Bernabe noted, 'Our rule of thumb is that with the additional PHP1 billion, we'll cover 500,000 more farmers across sectors.'
The proposed budget allocation will focus primarily on rice farmers, who will receive 60 percent of the funds, followed by corn farmers at 20 percent. The PCIC previously secured approximately PHP6.5 billion under the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA), which marked a 45 percent increase from the PHP4.5 billion funding in 2025.
Currently, the PCIC provides coverage for 2.93 million local farmers and fishers throughout the nation, with an increase in indemnity coverage for total loss. 'We made it PHP25,000 to boost the indemnity benefits of farmers, to make it PHP25,000 for total loss per hectare. So that's a 25 percent increase,' Bernabe explained. In contrast, the indemnity for total crop loss was only PHP20,000 per hectare in 2025.
The PCIC is also hopeful for the extension of its charter. 'We are quite hopeful that we will be extended,' Bernabe mentioned, highlighting the proposal for a 'perpetual' extension. The plan includes measures to strengthen and digitalize the PCIC, as well as to foster collaborations with private insurance companies, which Bernabe believes are essential steps to bolster the agriculture insurance industry.