Edu Manzano won't bow out of VP raceABS-CBN - Thursday, January 28
MANILA, Philippines – Don’t count him out just yet.
Administration bet Edu Manzano has reiterated that he is not bowing out of the vice presidential (VP) race amid speculations that he might back out due to insufficient campaign funds.
Unlike his running mate, Gilbert Teodoro, and other administration candidates, Manzano has yet to release his own political advertisements, fueling speculations that he was already thinking twice about running under the banner of Lakas-Kampi-CMD.
In his interview with ABS-CBN News during his and Teodoro’s visit to 2 universities in Bulacan Tuesday, the actor and former game show host finally put all speculations to rest.
For one, he would not give up his VP bid because he has already sacrificed much for his candidacy, he said.
“I still believe that he's (Teodoro) still the most competent and the most intelligent and has the most experience. Why would I leave my candidate like that? Walang iwanan at all,” he said.
Manzano was also not in a hurry to launch his political ads. He added that what’s important is for the people, especially the youth, to become aware of his platform of government.
“In the previous surveys, ang aking awareness rate is 100%. Kapag ako ang naglabas ng commercial ngayon, sayang lang sa pera. Let's wait for the actual campaign period [to start],” he added.
Despite his claim of high awareness rate, Manzano continued to perform poor in surveys.
In December 5-10 SWS survey, for instance, results showed that only 2% of the respondents would vote for the administration VP bet. Among the 5 VP contenders, Manzano ranked 4th.
From Bulacan, Teodoro and Manzano, meantime, are expected to visit universities in Metro Manila and Batangas. -Report from Jay Ruiz, ABS-CBN News
