PRESIDENTIAL aspirant and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso on Sunday called on the Insurance Commission to speed up the processing of insurance claims of Typhoon Odette victims who have lost everything in the aftermath of the most destructive typhoon to hit the country after Yolanda.

“Ako po ay nananawagan sa Insurance Commission na pabilisin ang pag-proseso ng claim ng insurance para makatulong sa ating mga kababayan na nabiktima ng Bagyong Odette. Yung kanilang mga bahay at negosyo ay wasak, kaya kailangan maging mabilis ang aksyon ng mga insurance company,” Moreno said.

“At yung ating gobyerno na ating ianaasahan ay dapat mabilis ang kilos at yung mga insurance company dapat maibigay agad yung claim nung mga biktima dahil napakahirap ng buhay sa lugar na binagyo ni Odette,” Moreno told some 2,000 people, mostly farmers and agricultural workers, in Calasiao, Pangasinan.

The Insurance Commission is the government arm that regulates and supervises the insurance, pre-need, and HMO industries. The agency is under the administrative control of the Department of Finance.

According to the Aksyon Demokratiko standard bearer, speeding up the insurance claims of the victims would be a big help them in rebuilding their shattered lives, many of whom have lost their homes and livelihoods.

“Ito ay makakapagbigay ng tulong sa mga pamilyang nasira ang tahanan at negosyo sa kanilang mga lugar,” he said.

Typhoon Odette smashed into the country Thursday as a super typhoon packing wind speeds of 195 kilometers per hour. It made 9 landfalls – Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte; Cagdianao, Dinagat Islands; Liloan, Southern Leyte; Padre Burgos, Southern Leyte; President Carlos P. Garcia, Bohol; Bien Unido, Bohol; Carcar, Cebu; La Libertad, Negros Oriental; and Roxas, Palawan – before exiting the country Friday.

The super typhoon left widespread destruction along its wake, uprooting trees and destroying wooden structures, ripped off roofs, damaged hospitals, toppled concrete power poles and flooded villages.

Besides the Insurance Commission, Moreno also called on the DOF’s Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) to immediately process the claims of the thousands of farmers and fisherfolks whose livelihoods have been affected by Odette.

PCIC is the government agency that provides insurance protection to farmers against losses arising from natural calamities, plant diseases and pest infestations of their palay and corn crops as well as other crops.

According to Moreno, losses to crops are more devastating to farmers’ finances because most of them have small landholdings and rely mostly on credit.

“Irinaraos niyo ang buhay niyo, tapos iwawasiwas lang ng bagyo. Kailangan andyan ang gobyerno para magkaroon ng kapanatagan na meron siyang masasandalan, na yung tinanim niya, ano’t anong mangyari, meron siyang gobyernong masasandalan pagka oras ng delubyo, oras ng aberya. Kasi mamumuhunan ka ng pera, ng panahon, ng lakas ng katawan, at naghihintay ka na lang ng ani, ng bunga, biglang darating yung bagyo. Wasak lahat yung hanapbuhay mo,” Moreno said.

“So talagang mahirap. Kaya kailangan may program yung gobyerno na bigyan ng kapanatagan ang ating mga kababayan dahil ang bansa natin au sigurado naman laging may sakuna,” he said.