MANILA — The Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) reported that the majority of insurance claims for farmers and fishers in 2025 were released within the standard 20-day processing period.

“In 2025, we’re computing at 80 or even higher, at 90 percent, within the standard 20 working days,” PCIC President Jovy Bernabe said in an interview during a partnership signing with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on Monday.

Bernabe attributed the faster release of claims to PCIC’s digitalization and modernization initiatives, including the use of satellite imagery to estimate agricultural damage in geo-tagged farms.

“That’s only for wind speed. We’re still developing (how to assess damage from) flooding kasi wala pa tayong data talaga (because we still don’t have data) on how to measure flooding,” he said.

He added that the agency is seeking private-sector partners to provide flooding data, which would allow PCIC to assess flood damage remotely and streamline the insurance process.

“We’re trying to look for a good partner na magbibigay sa atin ng flooding data para hindi na tayo pupunta doon (that can give us flooding data so that we no longer need to go to the field to conduct assessment) for flooding,” Bernabe said.

The satellite-based system currently covers damage caused by tropical cyclones, but expanding data sources is expected to improve the efficiency and accuracy of claims for future disasters.