Manila, March 20 -- The National Tobacco Administration (NTA) on Thursday said it has started distributing PHP9 million worth of assistance to 2,618 tobacco farmers in Northern Luzon.

The farmers were affected during the onslaught of various typhoons and heavy rains which caused the wilting of growing and early transplanted tobacco seedlings.

"The successive occurrences of Typhoons Kristine, Leon, Marce, and Ofel from November to December in 2024 and the strike of freak rains in the first week of January 2025 have severely damaged some areas planted with tobacco in Regions 1, 2 and CAR (Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, and Cordillera Administrative Region)," NTA Deputy Administrator for Operations Nestor Casela said in a statement.

"We understa...