Capitol Earns Galing Pook Recognition for Its Insurance Plan for Farmers, Fishers

The Cebu Provincial Government’s entry on the comprehensive agri-fishery insurance program earned a recognition as one of the finalists in the prestigious Galing Pook Awards held at the Novetel Manila Araneta Center in Quezon City last Oct. 11.

The award was received by Gov. Hilario P. Davide III along with some Capitol department heads, namely, Dr. Roldan Saragena of the Provincial Agriculture Office, Dr. Mary Rose Vincoy of the Provincial Veterinary Office, and Baltazar Tribunalo of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.

Davide also led the presentation of the Capitol’s entry dubbed as the ”Special Comprehensive Insurance Program for Agri-Fishery Projects and Stakeholders in the Province of Cebu” before the award-giving body.

The Capitol saw the need to enroll the farmers and fishers in the comprehensive insurance program for 2017 to protect them from the damaging effects of climate change and other natural calamities.

Davide, with the concurrence of the Cebu Provincial Board headed by Vice Gov. Agnes A. Magpale, paid a total of P37,736,714 insurance premium to secure the livelihood of at least 34,069 farmers and fishermen throughout the province.

Of the total amount, the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) paid P7,083,033 indemnity to affected farmers and fishermen, while another P666,091 amount was paid to the Provincial Government.

Since 2013, Davide and Magpale have been introducing measures and initiatives for the benefit of the farmers and fishers under their administration’s Six-Key Development Agenda.

Guided by the administration’s motto, “Kalambuan sa Matag Sugbuanon,” the Six-Key Development Agenda are health and social services; countryside development; education and technical vocational training; climate change and disaster preparedness; infrastructure, tourism and investment promotion; and law and order.

This is the first time that the Cebu Provincial Government was recognized as a finalist of Galing Pook Awards, where a total of 152 entries were submitted by various stakeholders nationwide, said Vincent Cesar Bargayo of the Provincial Agriculture Office.

Galing Pook Awards was established through the joint initiatives of the Galing Pook Foundation, Local Government Academy-Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Ford Foundation.

This year’s awarding was organized in partnership with the Land Bank of the Philippines, Philippine Postal Corporation, and SEAOIL Foundation.

Meanwhile the Cebu Provincial Government, through its Provincial Veterinary Office, was recently recognized for its anti-rabies advocacy.

The National Rabies Prevention and Control Program handed over a plaque of recognition to the Cebu Provincial Veterinary Office, through Dr. Vincoy, in appreciation to the office’s active campaign against rabies.

During a forum last month, Vincoy said that the Cebu Province at least 378,798 dog population wherein 281,684 or 74.34 percent of these have been vaccinated as of September 2018. (Cebu Provincial Gov’t)