HAPPY Valentine’s Day!
Today, we commemorate the martyrdom of St. Valentine who defended love and marriage of couples, during the third century when love was prohibited and men were only trained for war. I’m not against your love but know well that this commemoration is not just about you and your couple, but of love, in general, in all levels and aspect.
Last September, we experienced that kind of love when the disaster brought by Natural Hazard in Typhoon Ompong occurred. As soon as the landslide in Itogon was highlighted in the news, those who can lend a hand extended help. A show of love to our affected constituents which was greatly appreciated. In fact, even in La Trinidad, many have donated relief goods for the victims, especially those who experienced the Valley-wide flooding.
There is a lot more that needs to be done to be resilient, in both the government and the stakeholders-especially our farmers. Weeks ago, the famous “andap” or the early morning frost has started destroying high value crops in farmlands in Benguet. It’s an addition of insult to the injury considering that the effects of Typhoon Ompong is not yet fully rehabilitated. And as per reports, agriculture sector incurred millions of damages in the province. This fact now forms the reasons why part of La Trinidad’s Quick Response Fund or QRF was purposely obligated to finance the agriculture sector too by purchasing farm inputs for distribution to our farmers for their recovery.
As we are looking into these situations, I think the option this Valentine’s Day is to love what gives us a living too. You have your PhilHealth for your hospitalization, for example, but have you protected the source of your income just like what you did for your health? It’s called Business Continuity for Businessmen, and I guess farmers have to consider it too. How about getting an insurance for the crops you plant? So that when an unforeseen event such as disaster strikes, there can still be something in return, when your crops won’t survive.
The government has created a company for this purpose, but you might have not known. It’s called the Philippine Crop Insurance Company (PCIC), which has been working to insure farmers since 1978. This is a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) mandated to provide insurance protection to farmers against losses arising from natural calamities, plant diseases and pest infestations. Remember: this company exist to help you against losses and it’s way better than getting none in disasters. Go now to your Municipal Agriculture Office and inquire now and they should be more than happy to assist you.
And, as I always suggest, it would also be of great help if someday, our farmer’s cooperatives will have an insurance program for their farmer owners. It doesn’t matter if the amount to be claimed in time is just at four-digit. The thing is, we show the love and we can give back in times of disasters. I don’t know if someone is in initiative, but I hope it will happen. That these cooperatives will also function as an inspiration and supporter of their owners to start again especially after a disaster.
We have to be resilient because we know how to love. And if we don’t want to be heartbroken in the future, when we can do something now, we have to do it, much more, much better.