President Arroyo can run for lower elective posts next year but whether she would take that road remains unclear, according to a senior Palace official.

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Raul Gonzalez said there is no law preventing the President from joining next year’s elections, except for the presidential race.

“She can run for vice president or even barangay captain if she wants to,” Gonzalez said in a phone interview with the Manila Bulletin. The Constitution prohibits a President from seeking reelection.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, however, said the President has remained mum about her political plans after she steps down next year.

Ermita, also presidential spokesman, said the Chief Executive has not discussed her plans in 2010 with him despite persistent rumors she is eyeing the congressional post in the 2nd District of Pampanga next year.

The President Wednesday returned to Lubao, Pampanga, to check on renovated school building and irrigation system. Just last Tuesday, she held the weekly Cabinet meeting at the residence of Pampanga Rep. Aurelio Gonzales in San Fernando, Pampanga.