The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has exempted from the election spending ban the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) subsidy programs for farmers and fisherfolk. During a hearing of the House committee on suffrage and electoral reforms on Wednesday, Comelec Commissioner George Garcia said the poll body approved the request “without any limitations or restrictions because we honestly believe that these are very important projects of the DA.” To be covered by the exemption are P1.1 billion worth of fuel subsidies for corn farmers and fisherfolk as well as cash assistance for rice farmers and the procurement of farming equipment and machinery.

Andrade, J. I. (2022, April 21). Comelec allows aid to farmers, fishers. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A4.