NDRRMC estimates Ompong’s damage to agri sector at P14.339B

The damage to agriculture due to the onslaught of Typhoon Ompong has reached P14.339 billion, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Tuesday.

The update issued Tuesday afternoon, the council said that the total amount of P14,339,237,631 covers the damage to agriculture in Regions I (Ilocos Region), II (Cagayan Valley), III (Central Luzon), IV-A (Calabarzon) and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).

Earlier on Monday, the Department of Agriculture estimated the farm damage to be at least P14.27 billion in affected crops, livestock, and infrastructure.

In the briefing on Tuesday afternoon, NDRRMC spokesperson Edgar Posadas said the number of affected farmers in CAR alone reached 171,932.

Typhoon Ompong slammed into Luzon last week, killing at least 59 people before leaving the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Saturday night.  — Margaret Claire Layug/BM, GMA News