Manila, Aug. 16 -- A measure that seeks to strengthen the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) by expanding its services and the agricultural activities it can insure was recently approved by the House of Representatives.

In a news release Sunday, House Speaker Faustino Dy III, one of the authors of House Bill (HB) No. 10365, stressed the importance of the measure, given the reality that a single calamity can wipe out not only a farmer's harvest but also months of investment and the means to begin producing again.

The approved measure broadens coverage to qualified farmers and fisherfolk against losses from natural calamities, fortuitous events, plant, livestock and fish diseases, and pest infestations.

It provides the PCIC w...