Aquino to announce endorsement after last Sona

TOKYO—Confronted anew with a question on who he thought would be his best successor, President Benigno Aquino III on Friday said he would make an announcement about his pick after his last State of the Nation Address (Sona) in July.

Mr. Aquino made the statement before members of the Japan National Press Club during an hour-long engagement on Friday morning, where he took questions from the Japanese press.

“When will I endorse? I promised our people I was hoping the end of June, but now it seems that I have to, by law, deliver a State of the Nation Address, which is (on) the last Monday of July, and it will be shortly after that that I will endorse the person to our electorate, to our people, as the person I believe who can carry out the continuity,” said the President.

This was in response to a Japanese journalist’s question on how the Philippines could ensure that changes during his administration would be sustained, with Japan, as a close partner, concerned over the continuity of the country’s economic and security policies.

Mr. Aquino made the assurance that the friendship between the Philippines and Japan would endure.

The President did not give a direct answer when asked about the apparent low popularity of the ruling Liberal Party’s prospective presidential bet Mar Roxas.

Instead, Mr. Aquino said: “I don’t think our people will elect a foolhardy replacement that will suddenly throw away all of these very good economic partnerships that we have with Japan.”

The President’s stop at the Japan National Press Club was his last appointment during a four-day state visit here.  Before meeting local journalists, he received Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko for a farewell call at the Imperial Hotel, his residence here.

President Aquino left Japan with his delegation of Cabinet members and other officials aboard the chartered Philippine Airlines flight PR-001 at 1:50 p.m. (Philippine time), ending his visit.

He is expected to land in Manila at 5:20 p.m. RC