President Marcos signed Executive Order (EO) No. 60, returning the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) to the supervision and control of the Department of Agriculture (DA), nearly three years after it was transferred to the Department of Finance (DOF).
“The PCIC is hereby attached to the DA for policy and program coordination,” the executive order read.
Established in 1995, PCIC is a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) tasked with providing insurance protection to farmers against natural disasters, plant diseases, and pest infestations.
It was originally under the supervision of the DA before former President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the PCIC’s transfer to the DOF in September 2021, upon recommendation of the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG).
The EO aims to streamline operations and centralize oversight.
President Marcos’s executive order emphasizes the need for “a strong organizational link between the PCIC and DA.”
This, he believes, will enhance agricultural insurance programs and make them more responsive to the needs of farmers, fisherfolk, and other agricultural stakeholders.
The move is expected to contribute to food security and agricultural modernization.
Despite the PCIC returning to the DA, the new order specifies that the Agriculture secretary will not hold one of the seven board seats. The seats previously held by the Finance secretary and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) were also removed.
Retained positions in the PCIC board are the president of PCIC and the president of Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank).
The remaining board composition will see changes: one seat for the executive director of the DA’s Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC); one seat for a private insurance industry representative to be nominated by the DOF secretary; and three seats (from one) for representatives of the subsistence farmers’ sector.
The appointment of the PCIC board chairman will follow guidelines set forth in the GOCC Governance Act of 2011.