Noli de Castro pulls out of senatorial race, says he will better serve the public as a broadcaster
Veteran broadcaster Noli de Castro has announced that he is withdrawing his bid for senator, saying he can better serve the people as a media practitioner.
"Isinumite ko ang aking kandidatura sa Comelec noong Biyernes, ngunit nagkaroon ng pagbabago ang aking plano," he said in a statement on Wednesday, Oct. 13.
"Kasabay ng pagdarasal sa Poong Nazareno, napag-isip-isip kong mas makakatulong ako sa pagbibigay ng boses sa ating mga kababayan sa pamamagitan ng pamamahayag."
"Kabayan" also thanked the Aksyon Demokratiko party, which he was running under prior to his withdrawal, and the group's presidential aspirant Manila Mayor Isko Moreno.
The journalist took his oath as a member of the party before he filed his certificate of candidacy on Friday.
When de Castro last ran for senate in 2001, he topped the race with over 16.2 million votes.
In Pulse Asia's last survey on Filipinos' preference for senatorial candidates, which was conducted from Sept. 6 to 11, fellow broadcaster Raffy Tulfo led the list followed by former House Speaker Alan Cayetano, and former senators Francis "Chiz" Escudero and Loren Legarda.
Based on the latest poll, 15 potential candidates have the statistical chance of securing one of the 12 Senate seats if the elections were held during the survey period.
— The Philippine Star (@PhilippineStar) September 29, 2021
Broadcaster Raffy Tulfo leads the list. Also in the last was TV host Willie Revillame. | @jvrmateo pic.twitter.com/xqUiY8oqEE