Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman on Friday denied a Philippine Daily Inquirer report quoting him about President Arroyo’s plans to run for Congress in 2010.

“I was probably misquoted. Anyway, I deny that report,” Pangadaman said in an interview on ABS-CBN News Channel.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer report on Friday quoted Pangandaman as saying that Mrs. Arroyo is planning to run for the congressional post in Pampanga.

“Definitely, she is running for Congress and would represent the people of Pampanga,” the report quoted Pangandaman as saying.

The agrarian reform chief allegedly made the statement on the sidelines of the Independence Day celebrations in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

In the interview with ANC, Pangandaman said that what he was discussing, among other things, is his own plans for the coming 2010 elections.

“I was asked by some friends in the media that they have heard reports that I'm also running for Congress in the 2010 elections. I told them that I’m studying that option and I will discuss this with my political allies in the province of Misamis,” he said.

Staunch critics of the President earlier cited scenarios wherein Mrs. Arroyo will run for Congress to put herself in place for prime minister should moves to change the system of government push through.

The Inquirer article echoed a TV Patrol World story that quoted former justice secretary Raul Gonzalez saying that Mrs. Arroyo would probably run in 2010. Gonzalez later said he was misquoted in the report.