The Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) has paid PHP11.9 million to 551 hog farmers in Antique whose swine died of various diseases.

“The hog-raisers that had received their indemnity checks are from the four towns of Antique that had reported swine deaths,” PCIC-Antique Clogene Galuego said in an interview on Thursday.

The checks released from Aug. 1 to Oct. 19 benefited 132 hog raisers from Hamtic town, 271 from San Jose de Buenavista, and 14 from Belison, all with confirmed cases of African swine fever (ASF), as well as 134 in Sibalom for hog mortality due to pneumonia.

The PCIC paid PHP10,000 to PHP14,500 per insured hog, provided the farmers were registered with the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture and they enrolled their hogs 21 days before their death.

Galuego said PCIC-Antique resumed accepting applications for hog insurance on Sept. 1 after it was temporarily stopped on June 21, immediately after the Department of Agriculture – Regional Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Iloilo City confirmed the first four ASF-positive cases in Hamtic.

“Applications for insurance are only being accepted now from the towns under the green zone or protected zone,” he said.

Towns classified under the green zone or with no reported case of ASF and not directly adjacent to the red or infected zone are Anini-y, Bugasong, Laua-an, Barbaza, Culasi, Sebaste, Pandan, and Caluya.

“Hog raisers should submit a certification from the Department of Agriculture that they are observing biosecurity measures together with their picture and that of their farm,” he said.

Application forms are available at their Municipal Agriculture Office. (PNA)