REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. 
Introduced by ABONO Party-list Representative 
HON. ROBERT RAYMUND M. ESTRELLA 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Philippines, notwithstanding its famed agricultural acuity, is beset with its own 
entwined environmental and agricultural challenges that are attributable to its being an agricult ural 
country and an archipelago at the same time. 
The country which is known to be a very conducive ground for agriculture now bears its 
own share of the negative effects of climate change which greatly varies the interplay of 
temperature and rainfall immensely affecting the resulting agricultural yields. Further, being an 
archipelago which is situated at the Pacific region, the Philippines proved to be a hotbed of natural 
phenomenon and natural disasters which put the affected areas into great vulnerability more 
especially the smallholder farmers who are considered the poorest of the economic sectors of the 
country. 
Certainly, the adage that “prevention is better than cure” does not hold enough all the time 
to our smallholder farmers because despite the preventive measures that are already in place and 
the existence of good laws on climate change and on risk reduction and management, they still 
always end up to be the most devastated at the aftermath of every passing disaster. 
It is therefore, the aim of this piece of legislation to provide our smallholder farmers a 
measure—in the form of a weather index-based agriculture insurance (WIBCI)—that may greatly 
help them weather and alleviate the adverse impacts of disastrous events which may leave them 
uncompensated, helpless, empty-handed, or financially burdened. 
The WIBCI approach addresses many of the challenges besetting the traditional insurance 
which utilizes manual assessment procedures requiring insurance professionals to physically visit 
the insured farm. Further, WIBCI attracts more reinsurers than the traditional insurance does, 
thereby, decreasing the burden on the insurer to diversify the risk internally. With this reduced 
burden, the insurer can quickly increase their portfolio to cover more and more farms. 
While the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporartion, in partnership with the Department of 
Agriculture, launched the three-year “Scaling-Up Risk Transfer Mechanisms for Climate 
Vulnerable Agriculture-based Communities in Mindanao” or the “Weather Index-based Insurance 
Mindanao Project” on November 2014, the same ended on December 31, 2017. 
July 6, 2022
12:42 pm
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In this legislation seeking to strengthen our farmers’ resiliency against the destructive 
effects of climate change and extreme weather risks, it is heretofore aimed that a free index-based 
agriculture insurance be made not just a part of the program, but rather be made into a law that 
shall stand on itself to lend enough support mainly to our smallholder farmers and greatly to the 
economy of the Philippines which is highly reliant on its agribusiness sector. 
Thus, the approval of this bill is urgently requested. 
Rep. Robert Raymund M. Estrella 
ABONO Party-list 


REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. 
Introduced by ABONO Party-list Representative 
HON. ROBERT RAYMUND M. ESTRELLA 
AN ACT 
TO STRENGTHEN THE RESILIENCY OF SMALL FARMERS AGAINST CLIMATE 
CHANGE AND EXTREME WEATHER RISKS BY ESTABLISHING THE 
REFGULATORY FRAMEWORK AND PROGRAM FOR A FREE INDEX-BASED 
AGRICULTURE INSURANCE, PROVIDING THE SOURCE OF FUNDING 
THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled, 
1 
SECTION 1. Title. – This Act shall be known as the “Free Index-Based Agriculture 
2 
Insurance (FIBAI) Act” 
3 
4 
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. – It is the policy of the State to ensure food security, 
5 
intensify food production, and increase climate resiliency of the country’s agricult ural 
6 
communities by ensuring the availability of critical safety nets to help farmers and agricult ural 
7 
producers withstand the adverse impact of disastrous weather events, facilitate their prompt 
8 
recovery from crop damage or crop devastation which have often led to uncompensated losses, 
9 
heavy financial burden, and unpaid debts. 
10 
11 
Recognizing the increasing frequency and/or severity of droughts, fires, floods, and storms, 
12 
the Climate Change Act of 2009 (R.A. 9729) has sought to “create an enabling environment for 
13 
the design of relevant and appropriate risk-sharing and risk-transfer instruments;” and to 
14 
“coordinate with local government units (LGUs) and private entities to address vulnerability to 
15 
climate change impacts of regions, provinces, cities, and municipalities.” 
16 
17 
The Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010 (R.A. 10121), has 
18 
also declared it the policy of the State to: 
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a. xx ”Uphold the people’s constitutional rights to life and property by addressing the
21 
root causes of vulnerabilities to disasters, strengthening the country’s institutional
22 
capacity for disaster risk reduction and management and building the resilience of
23 
local communities to disasters including climate change impacts;” xx
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b. xx “Incorporate internationally accepted principles of disaster risk management in the 
2 
creation and implementation of national, regional, and local sustainable development 
3 
and poverty reduction strategies, policies, plans, and budgets;” xx 
4 
5 
c.  xx “Institutionalize the policies, structures, coordination mechanisms and programs 
6 
with continuing budget appropriation on disaster risk reduction from national down to 
7 
local levels towards building a disaster-resilient nation and communities;” xx 
8 
9 
10 
In view thereof, the State shall strengthen and harmonize government initiatives and 
11 
programs to effectively address the weather and climate risks faced by small agricultural producers 
12 
in the Philippines, and extend crop insurance coverage to ensure food security and stronger 
13 
resiliency in crops and agricultural production. 
14 
15 
In order to reach out and serve the greatest number of Filipino farmers, fisher- folks, and 
16 
agricultural producers, the State shall encourage private insurance service providers to 
17 
complement the government crop insurance programs by way of innovative risk-sharing 
18 
mechanism, specifically weather index-based crop insurance programs. 
19 
20 
SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. – As used in this Act, the following terms shall be defined 
21 
as follows: 
22 
23 
a. Insurance is the service rendered by the insurance providers to protect the 
24 
insured clients against the probability of a large unexpected loss through the 
25 
transfer and sharing of risks to compensate for unexpected but financia l ly 
26 
disastrous events. A contract of insurance is an agreement whereby one party— 
27 
the insurance provider—undertakes for an agreed consideration to pay another 
28 
party—the insured client/beneficiary—for loss, damage, or liability arising 
29 
from an agreed contingent event; 
30 
31 
b. Crop insurance is an insurance service to protect farmers and agricult ure 
32 
producers against financial losses and uncertainties brought about by crop 
33 
failures, pests, extreme weather conditions and/or other causes beyond their 
34 
control, as indicated in the insurance policy issued by the insurance provider/s 
35 
to the client/s; 
36 
37 
c. Insurance Policy is a document or certification issued by the insurance 
38 
provider/s to the insurance clients as proof that the latter is covered by an 
39 
insurance service with the specified terms, premium costs, trigger event. Payout 
40 
benefits, and duration of coverage as indicated in the said document; 
41 
42 
d. Weather Index-based Insurance (WIBI) is an innovative insurance product 
43 
that aims to provide prompt insurance payout against the incidence of extreme 
44 
weather conditions through the use of scientifically measurable weather 
45 
parameters such as rainfall, temperature, frost, humidity, and/or other gauges as 


1 
proxy for actual loss using transparent indicators of the occurrence of an 
2 
adverse event; 
3 
4 
e. Payout is the amount paid or to be paid by the insurance provider on account 
5 
of the occurrence of an agreed contingent event, such as the breach of an agreed 
6 
lower or upper limit in weather indicators, as specified in an insurance contract; 
7 
8 
f. Triggers is the threshold measurement points for the selected weather index 
9 
parameter or indicator at which the insurance contract starts to pay out; 
10 
11 
g. Reference Unit Area (RUA) is a contiguous geographical area such as a group 
12 
of barangays, municipality, or city as may be covered by or monitored through 
13 
a Reference Weather Station (RWS); 
14 
15 
h. Reference Weather Station (RWS) is a specified meteorological station for 
16 
each insurance contract as the named reference station from which the observed 
17 
weather paraemeter/s shall be principally obtained. This may be a particular 
18 
weather facility of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical 
19 
Services Administration (PAGASA), or any public or private WMO-compliant 
20 
private weather station, and/or any satellite-based weather observation service 
21 
recognized by international re-insurance providers; 
22 
23 
i. Weather index risks analysts or weather calculator agents are informa t ion 
24 
support professionals who specialize in meteorological, climatological, and/or 
25 
weather sciences, providing expert scientific studies, technical informat io n, 
26 
computer models and/or maintenance of automatic weather stations calibrated 
27 
for use in the forecasting and validation of weather occurrences and also in risk 
28 
and actuarial analyses for weather index-based insurance programs; Provided, 
29 
that: said professionals shall register, whether as individuals or corporate 
30 
entities, with the Insurance Commission as third-party professional 
31 
meteorological and weather information service providers subject to technical 
32 
standards provided for by PAGASA in terms of those engaged in the calibratio n 
33 
of automatic weather stations;  and 
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35 
j. Small Farmer/Producer is a farmer whose total combined land-holdings cover 
36 
an area of not more than five hectares. 
37 
38 
SEC. 4. Free Index-Based Agriculture Insurance Framework. – There is hereby 
39 
established a nationwide Free Weather Index-based Agricultural Insurance (FIBAI) Program that 
40 
shall operate under the following policy framework: 
41 
42 
4.1 Weather Index-based Insurance Product. The typical core features of an index-based 
43 
Insurance product shall be present in a crop insurance contract under the Program, as 
44 
follows: 
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1 
4.1.1 An agreed weather reference index, such as, but not  limited to rainfa ll 
2 
(mm), wind speed (kilometers per hour) and temperature (degrees) whose 
3 
qualification is provided for each Reference Unit Area and for which data is 
4 
monitored, reported, and validated by an independent third party weather 
5 
information service provider such as PAGASA or DOST-ASTI, IC-registered 
6 
professional weather information services using and maintaining automatic weather 
7 
stations, or any satellite-based weather observation service recognized by 
8 
international re-insurance providers. 
9 
10 
4.1.2 A Reference Weather Station as the named meteorological station from 
11 
which the observed weather parameter shall be obtained and in event of failure, a 
12 
fall back methodology maybe utilized for the validation of a weather index 
13 
occurrence. 
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15 
4.1.3 A Trigger which is a reference point on the agreed index parameter the 
16 
occurrence of which activates the insurance payout; 
17 
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4.1.4 A Payout or lump sum insurance payment amount based on a pre-determined 
19 
schedule that takes into account the actual area planted and growth phase of the 
20 
crop. 
21 
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4.1.5 Phases of Crop Growth or Crop Cultivation that will be covered by specific 
23 
terms of the insurance – which may refer to a separate trigger and partial payout for 
24 
each phase of vegetative growth or crop cultivation stage, or a threshold indicator 
25 
for one whole cropping or growing period. 
26 
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4.2 Insurance Service Providers. The FIBAI Program shall be open to all government 
28 
and private sector insurance and re-insurance providers that will be accredited based on the 
29 
policies and guidelines to be formulated by the FIBAI Project Management Office created 
30 
under this Act. Weather Index-Based Agriculture Insurance providers shall be under the 
31 
regulatory supervision of the Insurance Commission. 
32 
33 
4.3 Stakeholders and Participants. The main beneficiaries of the FIBAI program shall 
34 
be the Filipino farmers and agriculture and fisheries producers or farmers’ cooperatives 
35 
who shall register with their respective Local Government Units (LGUs) for the particular 
36 
crop or production insurance program offered by the LGU through accredited insurance 
37 
providers. The LGUs may set aside supplemental local funds to complement the premium 
38 
subsidies that will be provided by the national government. The beneficiary farmers may 
39 
also pay premium for added insurance features that may be offered by providers. 
40 
41 
4.4 No Need for Calamity Declaration. Any breach of the insurance parameters as stated 
42 
in the FIBAI policy contracts shall be the sole trigger or basis for any payout and shall not 
43 
require the declaration of a state of calamity by the LGU in order to trigger the obligat ion 
44 
of the insurer to the insured farmers/producers. 
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1 
SEC. 5. Program Administration. – There is hereby created a FIBAI Program 
2 
Management Office (PMO) under the Office of the President (OP) that will focus on establishing 
3 
the needed coordination mechanisms to implement the program, and popularizing farmers’ regular 
4 
use of Weather Index-based Crop Insurance, the FIBAI-PMO shall: 
5 
6 
a. Coordinate with the various stakeholders, including the Department of Agricult ure, 
7 
National Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Council (NDRRMC), Local 
8 
Government Units (LGUs), farmers’ groups, insurance service providers, and the 
9 
scientific community, on the widest possible implementation of the FIBAI program 
10 
based on the rules and guidelines formulated by the FIBAI Oversight Board; 
11 
12 
b. Establish and maintain, a Weather Risk Data Center for index-based agricult ure 
13 
insurance, which information may be obtained from various sources, includ ing 
14 
PAGASA, records of the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation, DOST-ASTI’s 
15 
Project NOAH, UP-Los Banos’ Project SARAI, agriculture colleges and universit ies, 
16 
other government research institutions, and commercial sources such as satellite-based 
17 
weather monitoring services; 
18 
19 
c. Monitor, in coordination with the Insurance Commission, the progress and concerns of 
20 
all index-based agriculture insurance providers in the country; 
21 
22 
d. Ensure that the insurance pools, insurance companies, and other providers of ancillar y 
23 
services are registered with the Insurance Commission; 
24 
25 
e. Coordinate with the municipalities and cities and farmers’ cooperative federations that 
26 
are eligible to undertake the FIBAI Program in order to facilitate their access, 
27 
registration, and participation to the FIBAI Program as group insurance 
28 
clients/beneficiaries; 
29 
30 
f. Undertake, in partnership with the scientific communities, the development and 
31 
conduct of relevant studies on other crops and agriculture produce as well as on other 
32 
innovative modes of risk management that will encourage participation in index-based 
33 
insurance and re-insurance; and 
34 
35 
g. Oversee, monitor, and ensure compliance by the relevant parties in the implementa t ion 
36 
of the Program and the provisions of the index-based insurance and re-insurance 
37 
contracts following guidelines issued by the Insurance Commission. 
38 
39 
The PMO shall be headed by an Executive Director, to be appointed by the President , who 
40 
shall formulate the agency’s organization structure, strategic and operational plans, and annual 
41 
budgets which shall not exceed 2% of the total premium subsidies to be allotted for each fiscal 
42 
year for approval and endorsement by the FIBAI Oversight Board. The PMO shall ensure 
43 
adherence to the Micro-Agri Policy Fraemwork adopted by the Insurance Commission. 
44 
45 
SEC. 6. FIBAI Oversight Board. – An Oversight Board shall convene at least twice a year 
46 
to monitor and oversee the operation of the FIBAI program and the administration of all index- 


1 
based agriculture insurance in the country. This shall be composed of the heads of the follow ing 
2 
institutions and agencies, or their designated permanent representatives: 
3 
4 
1. Insurance Commission, to serve as Chairman; 
5 
6 
2. Department of Agriculture; 
7 
8 
3. Department of Interior and Local Government; 
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4. Cooperatives Development Authority; 
11 
12 
5. National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC); 
13 
14 
6. Department of Science and Technology; 
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7. Three (3) farmers, representing farmer organization or farmer cooperative federations 
17 
from the country’s three major island groups—to be appointed by the President of the 
18 
Philippines; and 
19 
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8. Three (3) representatives from the insurance industry, including the Philippine Crop 
21 
Insurance Corporation and two (2) from the private sector representing the non- life 
22 
insurance industry. 
23 
24 
The Board shall have the following functions: 
25 
26 
a. Confirm or approve the organization plans, strategic and operational plans, and annual 
27 
budgets to be submitted in the developed, managed, and monitored by PMO, with the 
28 
end view of ensuring proper and transparent implementation of the Program with the 
29 
widest possible outreach for small farmers; 
30 
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b. Confirm the rules and guidelines for the implementation and monitoring of index-based 
32 
crop insurance programs, taking into account actuarially sound insurance and re- 
33 
insurance principles; 
34 
35 
c. Fix and regularly update the maximum levels of insurance coverage levels and 
36 
maximum premiums that can be used as a basis for subsequent budgets of the FIBAI 
37 
and other related programs; and 
38 
39 
d. Prepare, through the PMO, an annual report on the implementation and extent of 
40 
availment by farmers and LGUs of the FIBAI program. 
41 
42 
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SEC. 7. Role of PAGASA and Other Weather Information Providers. – The Philipp ine 
44 
Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Service Administration (PAGASA), consistent with 
45 
its mandates under the PAGASA Modernization Act of 2015 (R.A. 10692), shall provide adequate, 
46 
up-to-date, and timely information on atmospheric, astronomical, and other weather-related 


1 
phenomena as well as assessments pertinent to climate change adaptation programs, such as 
2 
weather index-based insurance. 
3 
4 
PAGASA, and other weather science research institutions and climate institutes in the state 
5 
universities, shall continue to conduct and publish relevant weather damage and crop yield 
6 
correlation research and other scientific studies, prepare computerized analytical systems, and 
7 
accessible weather information analysis of future climate scenarios, among others. 
8 
9 
PAGASA may partner with relevant scientific organizations, research institutes, and/or 
10 
private sector entities for the implementation of specialized services and cost recovery programs 
11 
and may collect a minimal service fee for its weather certifications. 
12 
13 
The accredited index-based insurance service providers may also opt to partner with or 
14 
subscribe to recognized satellite-based weather information service agencies as their alternative 
15 
source and basis for determining the weather thresholds and risk levels. Insurance providers 
16 
utilizing satellite-based weather information services shall report to the FIBAI-PMO details on the 
17 
objectivity and reliability of such weather information facilities. The assistance of meteorologica l 
18 
information support professionals may be sought to calculate and analyze the risk levels or provide 
19 
computations to complement the data from weather stations of PAGASA and DOST facilities and 
20 
other monitored public or privately-owned weather sensors. 
21 
22 
SEC. 8. Role of Local Government Units. – The FIBAI Program shall be implemented by 
23 
the city and municipal LGUs for the farmers and farm crops within their areas of jurisdiction. The 
24 
LGU shall campaign and advocate for the FIBAI programs as a group or community crop 
25 
insurance facility and conduct information and education programs with the help of their barangay 
26 
officials and representatives of participating insurance providers. The farmers shall formally 
27 
register with the Municipal or City Agriculturist at least 45 days prior to the start of crop planting. 
28 
The participating insurance institution shall provide the group; insurance policy through the LGU 
29 
and, in turn, the LGU shall distribute the appropriate sub-policy contracts to the benefic iary 
30 
farmers for their respective free weather index crop insurance, indicating the name of the farmer 
31 
and crop to be insured, farm area and location, start of planting, and expected harvest schedule and 
32 
their estimated cost of production using their latest expected prices of farm inputs. 
33 
34 
The Municipal or City Agriculturist and the insurance provider shall electronically collate 
35 
the farmers’ insurance information and submit these to FIBAI-PMO at least 20 days prior to the 
36 
start of the planting  season. 
37 
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SEC. 9. Role of Insurance Pool. – All non-life insurance companies duly licensed by the 
39 
Insurance Commission shall participate in the FIBAI program through an Agri-Insurance pool. 
40 
The structure and operations guidelines of the said pool shall be approved by the Insurance 
41 
Commission. The Agri-Insurance pool shall be composed of local, duly-licensed and complia nt 
42 
insurance companies who will subscribe in the pool a minimum of one (1%) of the required 
43 
statutory net worth. 
44 
45 
SEC. 10. Free Premium and Source of Funding. – To subsidize the free premiums of 
46 
farmers under the FIBAI Program, the amount of Six Billion Pesos (PHP6.0 billion) shall be set 


1 
aside from their current year’s unprogrammed Risk Management Fund and/or from the unutilized 
2 
or unreleased portions of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Funds to form the initial FIBAI 
3 
Premium Subsidy Fund. Henceforth, this FIBAI Premium Subsidy Fund shall be included as an 
4 
additional line item in the subsequent annual national appropriations, as a separate component of 
5 
the climate change adaptation and disaster risk mitigation, the  amount of which shall be 
6 
automatically augmented in proportion to the applicable inflation rate adopted by the Developme nt 
7 
Budget Coordinating Council for the ensuing year. 
8 
9 
The insurance premium subsidies for the crops and farms of the insured farmers shall be 
10 
securely transmitted electronically to the selected insurance provider or insurance pool based upon 
11 
the submission of the lists and data of insured farmers by the LGUs and/or CDA- accredited 
12 
cooperative federations to the PMO; Provided that the average premium subsidy amount for the 
13 
insurance coverage of the pool will not exceed six percent (6%) of the average cost of production 
14 
of the totality of covered crops. Premium remittance shall be made within thirty (30) days from 
15 
the confirmation by the FIBAI-PMO of the covered farms and farmers. 
16 
17 
The insurance service providers shall immediately submit reports to the concerned LGU 
18 
and the FIBAI-PMO on their covered farms and insurance clients for the relevant Reference Unit 
19 
Areas. The insurance providers may independently conduct marketing activities to advertise and 
20 
popularize their insurance services. 
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SEC. 11. Climate Risk Mitigation Fund for Small Farmers. – There is hereby created a 
23 
Climate Risk Mitigation Fund for Small Farmers to be managed by the FIBAI-PMO. Any and all 
24 
unutilized amounts under the FIBAI program for any given year shall accrue to this Fund and may 
25 
be used to further enhance index-based crop insurance in the country such as any of, but not limited 
26 
to the following pruporses: institution and capacity-building in the various regions of the country, 
27 
information, and education campaigns for all agriculture-based municipalities and cities, the 
28 
enhancement and updating of the weather risk analytic centers, and improvement of 
29 
communication and coordination between and among the key stakeholders, especially the small 
30 
farmers. 
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SEC. 12. Exemption from the Procurement Law (R.A. 9184). – The procurement of 
33 
weather index-based crop insurance services under this Act shall be exempt from the coverage of 
34 
Republic Act No. 9184, provided, that: 
35 
36 
a. The insurance provider is comprised of a pool of insurance companies formed as a joint 
37 
venture with capitalization that is at least equal to the amount of premium to be 
38 
collected; 
39 
40 
b. The insurance to be procured is a group insurance policy for a composite set of farmer 
41 
clients within a municipality or a set of barangays; 
42 
43 
c. The insured farms have been mapped and are within coverage of a Reference Weather 
44 
Station or a satellite remote sensing service; 
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1 
d. Validation services of an independent third party weather information meteorologica l 
2 
calculator agents is registered with the Insurance Commission; and 
3 
4 
e. The composite set of barangays, municipalities, provinces and/or regions are packaged 
5 
with a balanced profile of high risk and low risk areas, as may be approved or 
6 
coordinated by the FIBAI-PMO 
7 
8 
Services to be provided by actuarial professionals, calculator agents and/or specialized 
9 
weather risk analysts accredited by the FIBAI-PMO and IC shall also be exempt from R.A. 9184, 
10 
provided, that their professional fees shall not exceed 6% of the insurance premium 
11 
12 
SEC. 13. Tax Exemptions. – All premium payments paid for index-based insurance 
13 
contracts registered with the LGUs and coordinated with the FIBAI-PMO shall be exempt from 
14 
VAT and other relevant transaction taxes, including Documentary Stamp Taxes. 
15 
16 
SEC. 14. Mandatory Agri-Insurance Quota. – All non-life insurance companies 
17 
authorized to do business in the Philippines are mandated to subscribe  to the insurance pool or to 
18 
ensure that a minimum of five percent (5%) of their gross written premiums shall be in the 
19 
agriculture sector. 
20 
21 
SEC. 15. Penalty Clause. – The Insurance Commission shall strictly monitor the 
22 
compliance of all non-life insurance institutions with the respect of the Agri-Insurance Quota as 
23 
provided for in the preceding section. Administrative sanctions and other penalties shall be 
24 
imposed by the Commission for non-compliance with the provision of this Act, which shall be 
25 
equivalent to two percent (2%) of the premium value of non-compliance with the Agri-Insura nce 
26 
Quota based on their total insured interests for the year. 
27 
28 
For the agricultural areas and communities covered under the FIBAI Program, the elected 
29 
LGU officials and key administrative offices, including but not limited  to the Mayor, Vice Mayor, 
30 
Municiapl/City Administrator, Municipal/City Agriculturist, Treasurer, and Accountant shall be 
31 
administratively liable for non-implementation of the weather index insurance for their constitue nt 
32 
farmers, subject to Book V, Title I, Subtitle A, Chapter 7 (Discipline) of the Administrative Code 
33 
(E.O. 292) under the Civil Service Commission Subtitles, as amended, and Rule XI (Penalties) 
34 
under the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees (R.A. No. 
35 
6713). 
36 
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SEC. 16. Transitory Provisions. – The FIBAI Program shall initially cover the staple 
38 
crops, namely: rice and corn farms, in the Top 30 rice and corn producing provinces of the 
39 
preceding year based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority. This is without prejudice to 
40 
including farmers in more provinces, municipalities, and contiguous areas as the FIBAI-PMO, 
41 
LGUs, and that the insurance providers may be able to coordinate. 
42 
43 
Within a period of five (5) years from the approval of this Act, the PMO shall coordinate 
44 
and partner with the scientific community and relevant research and academic institutions on the 
45 
development of weather risk models for crop yield and crop damage based on Philippine climate 


1 
information and data and other studies to widen the coverage of weather index-based insurance to 
2 
other agriculture crops and livestock. 
3 
4 
SEC. 17. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within sixty (60) days from the 
5 
effectivity of this Act, the Insurance Commissioner shall convene the FIBAI Oversight Board to 
6 
formulate and adopt the Implementing Rules and Regulations of this Act within the ensuing period 
7 
of three (3) months. The IC shall initially provide secretariat support to the Board, pending the 
8 
establishment of the FIBAI-PMO which shall then become the Secretariat of the Board. 
 
9 
SEC. 18. Repealing Clause. – All laws, decrees, executive orders or parts thereof 
10 
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
 
11 
SEC. 19. Separability Clause. – If any part or provision of this Act is declared invalid or 
12 
unconstitutional, the other parts not otherwise affected shall remain in full effect and force. 
 
13 
SEC. 20. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect upon its publication in the Officia l 
14 
Gazette. 
 
Approved,