Interior Secretary Benjamin "Benhur" Abalos Jr. on Monday formalized his bid for a senate seat, centering his platforms on solving problems in power supply, value-added tax on the grids, and pushing agricultural reforms.
“We will tackle a lot. First is electricity, we will look at the problem, also the checking the VAT and the grids. Second is the agriculture, we will look into our farmers,” Abalos said.
In filing his certificate of candidacy for the 2025 midterm election, Abalos is deemed resigned as secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. earlier said he has found someone to replace Abalos but he is yet to announce it.
Abalos will run under the administration’s Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial slate.
In 2022, Marcos appointed Abalos as the DILG secretary. He was the chief of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) in 2021 under former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Also, Abalos served as mayor of Mandaluyong City from 1998 to 2004 and then was elected as Mandaluyong representative from 2004 to 2007.