EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE)
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES)
First Regular Session )

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

H.B. No. ease

Introduced by Rep. Vilma Santos-Recto
6" District of Batangas

AN ACT
AUTHORIZING THE GRANT OF A FULL CROP INSURANCE COVERAGE TO
QUALIFIED BENEFICIARIES OF THE COMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN REFORM
PROGRAM AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE SECTION 14 OF REPUBLIC ACT
NO. 9700, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE “COMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN
REFORM PROGRAM EXTENSION WITH REFORMS”

EXPLANATORY NOTE

‘Over the past years, the Philippines suffered extreme weather events such as heavy
rains, typhoons and droughts that were more intense than what had been normally
experienced. The Department of Agriculture (DA) estimates that the agricultural damage
wrought by the El Niflo Southern Oscillation Phenomenon since March 2019 already reached
P7.963 billion on May 2019, affecting some 247,610 farmers and 277,891 hectares of
agricultural land'. Typhoon Ompong brought about P 26.77 billion worth of damage to
agriculture when it struck the country in September 2018”. This is followed by Typhoon
Rosita in November 2018, which caused P2.905 billion worth of damages to the agricultural
areas in Regions I, I, Ill, and CAR’. These disasters take a great toll on Filipinos for they can
disrupt livelihood and affect food production. The poor, particularly those engaged in
agriculture, suffers the most because their household and livelihood are usually located in
areas most vulnerable to natural hazards and calamities.

Crop insurance is one of the government's instruments in mitigating agricultural risks
and addressing the consequence of calamities on the agricultural sector. As a risk
management tool, crop insurance provides two advantages. One, it makes losses more
bearable by providing immediate financial support so affected farmers would have better
options than waiting for the next planting season or resorting to borrowing money at usurious

* National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. (2019, May 3). Situational Report No. 20 re:
Preparedness Measures and Effects of El Nilo.
* National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. (2018, October 6). Situational Report No. 57 re:
Preparedness Measures and Effects of Typhoon “OMPONG” (I.N. MANGKHUT).
2 National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Couneil. (2018, November 15). Situational Report No. 21
re: Preparedness Measures and Effects of Typhoon “ROSITA” (ILN. YUTU).
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rates. With the proceeds from crop insurance claims, the farmers will be able to immediately
replant as soon as the weather and soil condition permits. Two, it provides a mechanism to
mitigate the effects of calamities on crop production, sustaining not only the farmer's family
income, but the country’s food security as well.

In the Philippines, the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) implements and
manages the government program on agricultural insurance. However, the participation of
agricultural workers in the government agricultural insurance program remained low. In
2017, PCIC only insured some 1,326,618 hectares of land and 1,697,577 farmers and paid
claims worth P1.937 billion to 241,096 farmers". These fis figures revealed that in 2017, PCIC
was only able to insure about 18.24% of agricultural land area and about 16.54% of
agricultural workers’.

One of the reasons for the low farmer participation in crop insurance is the premium
required to participate in the program. Although government extends assistance through
insurance premium subsidies, the balance of premium payments is still a burden to many of
our poor farmers and land tenants who could barely make both ends meet, let alone take
insurance policies for their crops.

This bill seeks to address this predicament by providing the qualified beneficiaries of
the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program a full crop insurance coverage. It sustains the
policy enshrined in the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program which states that the
welfare of the landless farmers and farm workers will receive the highest consideration to
promote social justice and to move the nation toward sound rural development and
industrialization. Ultimately, this bill seeks to contribute in helping every Filipino farmer rise
out of poverty.

In light of the foregoing, immediate passage of th

“ Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (2017). Annual Report 2017: Excellence in Governance for the Filipino
Farmer. Quezon City: Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation

® Figures for agriculwural land area (7,271,446 hectares) taken from 2012 Census of Agriculture. Figures for
agricultural workers (10,261,000) taken from 2017 Labor Force Estimates.

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EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE)
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES —_)
First Regular Session )

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B.No.__ 3451

Introduced by Rep. Vilma Santos-Recto
6" District of Batangas

AN ACT
AUTHORIZING THE GRANT OF A FULL CROP INSURANCE COVERAGE TO
QUALIFIED BENEFICIARIES OF THE COMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN REFORM
PROGRAM AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE SECTION 14 OF REPUBLIC ACT
NO. 9700, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE “COMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN
REFORM PROGRAM EXTENSION WITH REFORMS”

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Section 14 of Republic Act No. 9700, otherwise known as the
“Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms” is hereby amended to
read as follows:

“Sec. 14. Section 37 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, is hereby further

amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 37. Support Services for the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries. ~
The State shall adopt the integrated policy of support services
delivery to agrarian reform beneficiaries. To this end, the DAR, the
Department of Finance, and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)
shall institute reforms to liberalize access to credit by agrarian reform
beneficiaries, The PARC shall ensure that support services for
agrarian reform beneficiaries are provided, such as:
(a) xxx;
30g
“() xxx; AND
“(G) FULL CROP INSURANCE COVERAGE TO FARMER
BENEFICIARIES. COMPENSABLE LOSSES SHALL INCLUDE NATURAL

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CALAMITIES SUCH AS TYPHOON, FLOOD, DROUGHT, EARTHQUAKE
AND VOLCANIC ERUPTION; PLANT DISEASES AND PEST
INFESTATIONS. THE TERM OF INSURANCE SHALL BE RECKONED
FROM THE DATE OF PLANTING UP TO EXPECTED DATE OF HARVEST.

“XXX.

Sec. 2. Appropriations. ~ The Secretary of Agriculture shall immediately include in
the Department's program the needed operational requirement of this Act, the initial funding
of which shall be charged against the corporate fund of the PCIC. Thereafter, projections of
the premium subsidy requirement shall be submitted by the Philippine Crop Insurance
Corporation (PCIC) to the President, and shall be included in the annual General
Appropriations Act.

Sec. 3. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — The Presidential Agrarian Reform
Council, the Department of Agriculture (DA), the PCIC, the Department of Agrarian Reform
(DAR), and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) shall provide the necessary
implementing rules and regulations within thirty (30) days upon the approval of this Act.
Such rules and regulations shall take effect after its publication in at least two (2) newspapers
of general circulation.

SEC. 4. Separability Clause. — If any provision, section or part of this Act shall be
declared unconstitutional or invalid, such judgment shall not affect, invalidate or impair any
other provisions, sections or parts hereof.

Sec. 5. Repealing Clause. — All laws, acts, decrees, executive orders, issuances, and
rules and regulations or parts thereof which are contrary to and inconsistent with this Act are
hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

Sec. 6. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation or the Official Gazette.

Approved,

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