Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) president Jovy Bernabe on Wednesday said they would expedite the release of insurance claims of disaster-hit farmers in the country with the help of satellite technology.

In a media interview on the sidelines of the 2025 Sustainable Agriculture Forum in Makati City, Bernabe said they are targeting to reduce the 20-day average claims processing time to provide immediate aid to insured farmers.

“If you use satellite technology in claims processing, hindi na kailangang pumunta doon (you don’t need to go in the) actual far-flung area. Going there takes time,” he said.

He added this provides satellite imagery, which may be used for the estimation of agricultural damage in geo-tagged farmlands.

“The process will really become faster… We are trying to make it 10 days, kahit kalahati muna (at least half of it for now),” Bernabe said.

The enrollment procedures shall also be expedited to hopefully save more funds.

“If we geotag, accurate na talaga, hindi na iyong (it’s accurate, not just) ocular estimate the area. In that case, we are able to save a lot of money. And our savings will now go to more farmers being insured,” Bernabe said.

The PCIC, meanwhile, is eyeing to secure an additional PHP1 billion budget on top of the current PHP4.5 billion fund to expand the coverage of insured farmers in the country.

“Additional PHP1 billion can cover an additional 600,000 farmers,” Bernabe said.

In 2024, the PCIC covered 4.2 million farmers in the country, which may increase to 4.8 million once additional funds are granted. 

Source - https://www.pna.gov.ph