FORMER Agriculture secretary Emmanuel Piñol said he ran for Senate as he feels that in another six years, there could be more anti-agriculture policies.

Piñol, who was in Negros Occidental Wednesday, November 24, for the distribution of 500 seedlings of giant bamboo and 70 jackfruit, cited that importation of agricultural products and dependence from foreign sources of food are among the issues he wants to address.

He also emphasized that he wanted to stand-up against the proposal to liberalize the sugar industry, just like what President Rodrigo Duterte planned two years ago.

If Piñol is to be believed, the liberalization of the sugar industry will do more harm than good as it will cause irreversible damage to Philippine agriculture.

Meanwhile, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said he is backing Piñol's senatorial bid.

Lacson said he will even encourage people to vote for Piñol because of his advocacy for agriculture and he is also an Ilonggo.

He also lauded Piñol for the distribution of the seedlings, especially that of the giant bamboo.

It is timely because the province is also propagating bamboos especially in its watershed areas, the governor added.