PCIC Eastern Visayas to build new office in Leyte

PALO, Leyte, Oct. 27  -- The Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) regional office here will soon have its new office building at the Government Center here.

The state-run firm and the Leyte provincial government signed on Thursday the 50-year usufruct agreement for the use of the property.

PCIC president Jovy Bernabe thanked the provincial government for donating the 2,000-square meter lot.

“This is the second time that a local government donated land for PCIC office. The first one was in Tuguegarao in Cagayan,” Bernabe said.

The construction of the two-storey building will proceed next year with a PHP20-million budget.

Bernabe is hopeful that with the new office, the more than PHP100 million claims paid to farmers in Eastern Visayas last year will be doubled.

He vowed to intensify the implementation of various crop insurance programs with the new building.

In Leyte alone, PCIC programs have been benefitting more than 20,000 farmers.

Governor Dominico Petilla said that it’s good to welcome another office at the Government Center, a local government-owned 105-hectare site where several regional offices are located.

“Our vision is to make the Government Center a one-stop shop for more convenience to transacting public,” Petilla said.

PCIC, created during the Marcos regime, is a government-owned corporation tasked to implement the Department of Agriculture’s insurance program.

In the past few years, the state-run firm has been operating with PHP150-million annual budget.

The firm’s principal mandate is to provide insurance protection to farmers against losses arising from natural calamities, plant diseases and pest infestations of their palay and corn crops as well as other crops. (LAAA/PNA)