Liberal Party (LP) senatorial candidate Jericho Petilla expressed support for the call on the government to subsidize the agriculture sector.

Amid reports that El Niño is imminent and will adversely affect the production of crops this year and the following year, Petilla believes that our farmers need all the help they can get from the government. The government subsidy to be granted to farmers may be in the production side or on the marketing side.

The former Leyte Governor noted that in other developing countries, the government subsidizes the Agriculture sector. He added that for a country that is highly prone to natural calamity such as ours, it is even imperative that our farmers get all the support from our government.

During his three-term stint as Leyte Governor, Petilla was known to have strongly advocated reforms in the Agriculture sector of his province. In Leyte, he pushed for the LGUs to set up cooperatives owned by the farmers and these cooperatives support the farming needs of its members.

If elected into office, Petilla will push for reforms in Agriculture including the grant of subsidies for small farmers.