PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. yesterday said he has chosen the next head of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) but would not announce who until after Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr. has filed his certificate of candidacy (COC).

Abalos is running for senator in the May 2025 elections under administration-led Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas.

Filing COCs for next year’s polls starts today and will end on October 8.

The President, asked if he has found a replacement for Abalos, said “Oo, yeah (Yes, yeah).”

In an ambush interview in Capas in Tarlac yesterday, Marcos said he had two names in his shortlist but did not name them.

“Pabayaan muna natin si Secretary Abalos na… I don’t want him to feel that we are pushing him away. Since considering, especially, that he has done such a good job as DILG (Let us let Secretary Abalos be … I don’t want him to feel that we are pushing him away. Since considering, especially that he has done such a good job as DILG),” he said.

Abalos has said he has not recommended anyone to replace him but he has heard of some names being floated.

Abalos, along with fellow Alyansa senatorial candidate Deputy Rep. Camille Villar, accompanied the President in Paniqui in Tarlac where Marcos distributed certificates of condonation worth P124.6 million covering 4,132 hectares to 3,500 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs).

During the event, Abalos announced that the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) would buy from the ARBs food products to be given to inmates.