Agrarian Reform chief won’t run in 2019 midterm elections

MANILA, Philippines — Agrarian Reform Secretary John Castriciones will stay in his position instead of running in the coming 2019 national elections.            

At a news conference, Castriciones said that while he appreciates President Duterte’s public mention of his name as a national candidate, he remains faithful to his duties and responsibilities as Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) secretary.

“I shall continue serving the people in this capacity to pursue the strong support and advocacy of the President for our farmer-beneficiaries of agrarian reform program,” Catriciones said.

“This is also to end speculations if I will run or not for any position. Earlier, I also underwent serious evaluation of my priorities and that after considering the different programs of the DAR which are picking up now because of the support from the President, I decided to remain as secretary of the DAR,” he said.

The DAR chief explained that since he is also president of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, there are a lot of things he needs to do pertaining to party matters, including fielding candidates.

He said they are set to come up with their final list of candidates.

Duterte earlier disclosed the names of six Cabinet members who might run in next year’s elections, including Castriciones.