11 MARCH 2024
The Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Region V and the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) awarded Php 55,000.00 insurance claim to a Bantay Dagat volunteer’s widow in Oas, Albay.
Arnel Radan, a Bantay Dagat volunteer, passed away due to heart attack on November 9, 2023. He left behind a wife, Florenia Radan, six children, and 11 grandchildren.
“Maraming-maraming salamat po sa malaking tulong sa amin. Magagamit ko po ito sa pambayad sa mga utang at pampuhunan sa pagbili ng apat na biik,” Mrs. Radan said during the interview. [Thank you very much for this huge help. I will use this amount to settle debts and to purchase four young pigs for hog raising.]
This is the first time the family of a deceased volunteer of the Bantay Dagat was ever to claim a death benefit from the BFAR and PCIC. The two agencies worked for the implementation of the program as a result of the persistent clamor of the volunteers.
BFAR, through the Information and Fisherfolk Coordination Unit (IFCU), pushed for the funding of the one year coverage of the Bantay Dagat Insurance Program (BDIP) for the first batch of deputized Bantay Dagat volunteers from November 6, 2023 to November 6, 2024.
Utilizing a portion of the Fisheries Management Fund, 3,545 Bantay Dagat volunteers were already given medical assistance or were enrolled under the death benefit program, which amounts to ₱50,000.00 per beneficiary.
BDIP harnesses the PCIC’s Agricultural Producers Protection Plan (AP3), which insures farmers, fisherfolk, and allied workers in agriculture and fisheries and covers death due to accidents, natural causes, and murder or assault.