Around 8,000 farmers from Western Visayas have filed notices of loss at the Philippine Crop Insurance System (PCIC) due to damages caused by the El Niño phenomenon. Joseph Cajilo, chief of the claims and adjustment division at the PCIC 6, said they have already validated around 5,000 notices while inspection of the remaining claims is now ongoing. Settlement of claims usually lasts around 20 days on regular cases but since it was a widespread calamity, the settlement might take around 45 working days on the average, he added. Most of those who filed their claims were from towns of Bingawan, Lambunao, Janiuay, Badiangan and Cabatuan and Passi City in Iloilo. These are farmers situated in rain-fed areas. Also around 1,000 farmers were from Negros Occidental. Meanwhile, the bases to determine how much claims the farmers would get include the stage of crops when the damage occurred, percentage of yield loss and production input at the time of the damage. Farmers whose names appear in the Registry System on Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) were provided subsidy by the government for the payment of their insurance premiums. They only have to pay P60 for accident insurance. Once insured, PCIC can give up to a maximum of P20,000 for every hectare of rice crops planted. Source - interaksyon.com