MANILA, March 21 -- Voting 268-0 with no abstentions, the House of Representatives on Tuesday approved on the third and final reading a measure that seeks to expand the services of the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) and at the same time encourage private sector participation in agricultural insurance.

House Bill No. 7387 aims to ensure that more Filipino farmers are protected from financial losses arising from natural calamities, plant diseases and pest infestations by mandating the insurance services of the PCIC to all agricultural commodities, from the traditional palay crops to now include "other crops, without prejudice to the inclusion of other non-crop agricultural assets, such as livestock, fisheries and aquaculture,...