MANILA – Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. has ordered all regional offices of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) to expedite damage verification and loss assessments to hasten the delivery of assistance to farmers and fisherfolk affected by recent tropical cyclones and the Southwest Monsoon (Habagat).

Tiu Laurel, who also chairs the National Food Authority (NFA), directed the immediate release of rice stocks for disaster relief operations in affected regions.

According to a DA Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Center bulletin issued Saturday, September 27, preliminary estimates place total agricultural and infrastructure losses at ₱1.38 billion from the combined impact of tropical cyclones Mirasol and Nando, along with Habagat. Around 55,595 farmers and agricultural workers have been affected across nine regions.

The DA reported damage to about 47,723 hectares of farmland in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, Western Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and SOCCSKSARGEN. Estimated production losses reached 109,997 metric tons of rice, corn, high-value crops, and livestock and poultry.

In response, the DA is preparing to distribute 142,219 bags of palay seeds, 90,320 bags of corn seeds, 40,518 kilograms of vegetable seeds, 1.65 million tilapia, bangus and carp fingerlings, drugs and biologics for livestock and poultry, Survival and Recovery (SURE) Loans of up to ₱25,000 under the Agricultural Credit Policy Council, and crop insurance indemnification through the PCIC.

The DA is also gathering field reports from areas hit by Severe Tropical Storm Opong, which swept through agricultural zones in central Philippines, including Mindoro and Masbate. The Department will release its initial impact assessment for Opong tomorrow.

NFA Administrator Larry Lacson said 2.4 million sacks of rice—about 27 percent of the agency’s total stockpile of 8.9 million bags—have been allocated for disaster response, enough to cover national consumption for nine days. In Bicol, 2,117 bags of rice were prepositioned and released for LGUs in Albay, Ligao, Daraga, Malilipot, Catanduanes, Baras, and Pili.

In Cagayan, where DA estimates losses at ₱700 million, Tiu Laurel joined President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in distributing aid to about 12,740 farmers in eight towns.

The PCIC has set aside ₱236 million for indemnification payments covering claims from 25,800 farmers across eight regions, with ₱206 million allotted for rice-related losses. Of the insured farmers, 17,600 are from Regions I and II.

“Early next week we will submit our impact assessment for Opong,” PCIC President Jovy Bernabe said.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Genevieve Velicaria-Guevarra said the DA will continue selling ₱20-per-kilo rice through the KADIWA ng Pangulo program in partnership with LGUs, especially in hard-hit communities.