Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. has directed all regional offices of the Department of Agriculture (DA), along with the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC), to fast-track damage verification and loss assessment in areas affected by recent tropical cyclones and the southwest monsoon (Habagat). The goal is to speed up the distribution of assistance to thousands of affected farmers and fisherfolk.
Preliminary estimates by the DA’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Center show total agricultural and infrastructure losses reaching ₱1.38 billion. The losses stem from the combined impact of tropical cyclones Mirasol and Nando, as well as Habagat, across nine regions. Approximately 55,000 farmers and agricultural workers have been affected, with damage reported on over 47,000 hectares of farmland. The estimated production losses total nearly 110,000 metric tons, covering rice, corn, high-value crops, and livestock.
In response, the DA has prepared a wide range of assistance. This includes hundreds of thousands of seed bags for rice and corn, thousands of kilograms of vegetable seeds, and over 1.6 million fingerlings of tilapia, bangus, and carp. Livestock and poultry health support is also being mobilized, along with the release of Survival and Recovery (SURE) loans of up to ₱25,000 per beneficiary. These loans are interest-free and payable in three years. Additionally, crop insurance indemnification through the PCIC is being rolled out to affected farmers.
The department is also closely monitoring the effects of Severe Tropical Storm Opong, which recently impacted key agricultural areas in central Philippines, including Mindoro and Masbate. An initial assessment of Opong’s impact is expected to be released on Monday.
To support ongoing disaster relief, Secretary Tiu Laurel, who also chairs the National Food Authority (NFA), has ordered the prompt release of rice stocks in heavily affected areas. NFA Administrator Larry Lacson confirmed that 2.4 million bags of rice—about 27 percent of NFA’s total stockpile of 8.9 million bags—have been set aside for emergency use. This quantity is enough to meet national consumption needs for nine days. In the Bicol Region, the NFA has already released 2,117 bags of rice as part of its pre-disaster response. Local government units in Albay, Catanduanes, and Camarines Sur have begun withdrawing rice allocations from NFA warehouses for distribution to affected communities.
In Cagayan province, one of the hardest-hit areas, Secretary Tiu Laurel accompanied President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday in distributing aid to around 12,740 farmers across eight municipalities. The DA estimates that Cagayan alone has suffered ₱700 million in agricultural losses.
Meanwhile, the PCIC has allocated ₱236 million in indemnification payments for nearly 25,800 farmers affected by recent weather disturbances in eight regions. Of this amount, ₱206 million is earmarked specifically for rice-related damage, with most claims coming from Regions I and II. PCIC president Jovy Bernabe said that a separate report on the impact of Opong will be submitted early next week.
Assistant secretary Genevieve Velicaria-Guevarra, who heads the KADIWA ng Pangulo program, confirmed that the DA will continue offering ₱20-per-kilo rice in cooperation with local government units, especially in disaster-hit areas where some residents may not have yet received formal aid.
