Edu not quitting VP race despite limited funds

Administration vice presidential bet Edu Manzano stressed on Friday that he is not backing out of the race despite earlier complaints from his camp that the Lakas-Kampi-CMD party was not providing him enough financial support. "Hindi po totoo na ako ay nagbabalak mag-withdraw. Sinabi ko na po minsan sa aking presidente na si Gibo Teodoro na anuman ang mangyari…Hindi po kami titigil until we hear the last bell (It's not true that I'm planning to withdraw. I already told my president, Gibo Teodoro, that whatever happens we will not quit until the last bell)," Manzano said on GMA News' Unang Hirit. "I will continue my run and I [am running] to win," said Manzano, an actor and former chairman of the Optical Media Board. Teodoro was also a guest on the early morning program.

On Wednesday, Manzano’s campaign manager Aurelio "Reli" German lamented the absence of television ads promoting the actor's vice presidential bid, as well as the scarcity of his radio and print advertisements. [See: Edu Manzano camp decries lack of support from Lakas] German blamed Manzano's lack of advertisements on insufficient funding from Lakas-Kampi-CMD, saying they have not yet reached the "the amount needed to run an effective, nationwide campaign." "Akala yata nila tumatakbo lang si Edu bilang alkalde ng isang third class municipality (Maybe they think Edu is running for mayor in a third class municipality)," German said. Under the law, a vice presidential candidate may spend P10 per voter, and his or her political party may spend an additional P5 per voter in the constituency or constituencies where it has official candidates. There are currently around 50 million registered voters in the country. Setting an example? For his part, former Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello III, a senatorial candidate of Lakas-Kampi-CMD, said campaigning with limited funds allows the party to set an example. "Okay lang, mabuti yan maging halimbawa kami sa pagkampanya nang walang gastusan (It is okay with us. We can set an example of campaigning without spending too much)," he said in an interview over radio dzXL. Bello downplayed the Manzano camp’s complaints, saying Manzano has better reasons for running other than finances. He said Manzano has had valid reasons for skipping some campaign sorties, including a bout with rashes and attending the wedding of a child of former Ilocos Sur Governor Luis Singson. "Di ako naniniwala [na] tumakbo siya dahil sa pondo (I don’t believe Manzano ran mainly for financial reasons)," he said. - with Johanna Camille Sisante/RSJ, GMANews.TV