Gov’t insures more Bantay Dagat staff

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) have renewed the financial insurance program for Bantay Dagat volunteers this year.

The BFAR said 6,800 volunteers were insured in 2025, an increase of more than 91 percent from 3,545 beneficiaries a year ago.

The agency also said family members of 10 Bantay Dagat volunteers from Bicol, Zamboanga Peninsula, Davao and Soccsksargen received financial assistance from the Bantay Dagat Insurance Program (BDIP).

READ: BFAR plane tells Chinese Navy: ‘Review your chart!’

“The Bantay Dagat Insurance Program enforces the government’s commitment to serve the fisheries sector and safeguard the welfare of Filipino fishers, who under the spirit of volunteerism, tirelessly protect our coastal resources and marine biodiversity against illegal and unsustainable fishing,” BFAR officer in charge Isidro Velayo Jr. said in a statement.

BDIP is designed to provide essential medical aid and death benefits to eligible city or municipal fisheries and aquatic resources management council law enforcement officers and Bantay Dagat volunteers who help safeguard the country’s marine resources.

The program is covered by the PCIC’s Agricultural Producers Protection Plan, which covers the death insurance for enrolled agricultural producers, farmers, fisherfolk and other stakeholders due to accident, natural causes and murder or assault. —Jordeene B. Lagare