AKSYON Demokratiko standard-bearer Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso on Monday called on the Insurance Commission to speed up the processing of insurance claims of Typhoon "Odette" victims.
Domagoso made the appeal when he met with around 2,000 farmers in Calasiao, Pangasinan.
"'Yung kanilang mga bahay at negosyo ay wasak, kaya kailangan maging mabilis ang aksyon ng mga insurance company (Their homes and businesses were destroyed, that's why they need quick action from insurance companies)," he said.
The Insurance Commission regulates the insurance, pre-need and health maintenance organization (HMO) industries. It is under the Department of Finance.
Domagoso said speeding up the claims of the victims would enable them to bounce back more quickly from the devastation of the typhoon, which left extensive damage in Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte; Cagdianao, Dinagat Islands; Liloan, Southern Leyte; Padre Burgos, Southern Leyte; President Carlos P. Garcia, Bohol; Bien Unido, Bohol; Carcar, Cebu; La Libertad, Negros Oriental; and Roxas, Palawan.
The storm's 200-kilometer-per-hour winds uprooted trees and destroyed wooden structures, ripped off roofs, damaged hospitals and toppled concrete power poles.
The former actor also urged the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp., the agency overseeing insurance protection to farmers against losses arising from natural calamities, plant diseases and pest infestations, to immediately process the claims of the thousands of affected farmers and fisherfolk.
Losses incurred by farmers are a big financial problem because most of them have small landholdings and rely mostly on credit, according to Domagoso.
"Kaya kailangan may program 'yung gobyerno na bigyan ng kapanatagan ang ating mga kababayan dahil ang bansa natin ay sigurado naman laging may sakuna (The government must have a program to ease the burdens of our countrymen because our country is always faced with calamities)," he said.
Source: manilatimes.net