Vice President Noli de Castro Monday said he would give priority to his housing programs for the poor in his final months in office instead of campaigning for the 2010 elections.

“The presidency is not yet in my mind, I would rather concentrate now on what I could still contribute as a public servant, as a vice president, especially for the housing needs of Filipinos,” said De Castro, who is also chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council.

At the same time, De Castro said he was sure that a presidential election would happen next year.

“I am 101 percent sure that elections will push through because Filipinos here in America and in the Philippines will not permit a no-election scenario,” De Castro said.

He said Charter change is not new, adding that he has been hearing the proposal ever since he was a broadcaster. “But elections push through anyway,” he said.

“I only got a few months and, you know, we are working overtime. If we don’t work from that time frame, we won’t be able to do much. I owe it to the 60 million people who voted for me as a vice-president to give it my best shot. Of course, it’s embarrassing to them if I do nothing,” De Castro said.

De Castro is currently in Boston as a special guest at the Gawad Kalinga (GK) summit to unveil the GK’s 21-year timeline to end the poverty of five million Filipinos.

“The problem on housing is a big problem that the government cannot solve alone. There are still a lot of informal settlers or squatters and that’s why we welcome the support of NGOs (non-government organizations) particularly Gawad Kalinga,” De Castro said during an interview with the press at the sidelines of the launching of GK’s 2024 vision.

He said among the many NGOs that have been helping government housing, GK is the most active and sustainable.

“That is why, I go to their every invitation to show support. I came here because of GK and not to campaign. Malaki ang utang na loob ko sa GK dahil sa tulong nila sa programang pabahay ng gobyerno,” De Castro said.

He also reiterated that he had not yet decided when he would announce his bid. De Castro leads in most surveys of popular presidential contenders in next year’s general elections.

He said that he would run as an independent candidate if he would not be endorsed by Malacañang in the coming months and confirmed Sen. Francis Pangilinan is at the top of his list as a running mate since the senator was not only qualified for the position but is also his good friend.

“But you know, these things are still not in my mind,” De Castro said.