Magsasaka Partylist Rep. Argel Joseph Cabatbat on Friday, Sept. 17 decried as illegal government’s decision to transfer the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Finance.

In a press statement, Cabatbat said various farmers groups have also assailed the issuance of Executive Order No. 148 that transferred the PCIC to the DoF and provided for the reorganization of its board.

Under EO No. 148, farmers representation to the board of PCIC was reduced from three to just one.

“Puzzling and quite disturbing,” said Cabatbat in his reaction to EO 148.

He said the executive decision violated provisions of Republic ACt 8175 or the PCIC charter.

“Because of this, farmers will lose critical representation in the agency, going from three Board seats reserved for farmer representatives down to a mere one seat. This goes against the PCIC Charter (RA 8175) and is illegal,” he said.

“It is puzzling that the government will hand down a decision that effectively hurts the Filipino farmers' welfare,” the partylist solon stated.

Cabatbat chided government for failing to consult with farmers groups and other stakeholders before making the making the decision.

“It was also done without due consideration of its impacts on the industry,” Cabatbat noted.

His partylist organization aired the belief that the transfer “will negatively affect the success of the crop insurance program, making farmers more financially vulnerable to calamities and viral outbreaks.”

According to Cabatbat the PCIC has been doing an excellent job in addressing the financial concerns of farmers, adding that it is “one of the most consistently efficient government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCC) in the country.”

“Why try to fix something that isn't broken? Or perhaps more accurately, why destroy something that's already performing very well? This transfer is just so baffling, and quite worrisome,” Cabatbat said.