MANILA, Philippines - President Benigno Aquino III is willing to help the next president even if it is not Liberal Party standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II.
"I'd like to think that if my help is requested by anybody, then I should always be willing to help anybody regardless of the status," Aquino said during the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines presidential forum on Tuesday.
Aquino said he will not be a nuisance to his successor by giving unsolicited advice.
The president maintained that the 2016 elections will be a referendum of his administration's achievements.
More than a week ago, 130 individuals filed their certificates of candidacy for president.
The Commission on Elections, however, is expected to weed out the so-called nuisance candidates or those lacking political machinery for a nationwide campaign.
The poll body said only five presidential aspirants would likely make it to the official list of candidates including Roxas, Vice President Jejomar Binay and Sens. Grace Poe and Miriam Defensor-Santiago.