Edu denies he's backing out of VP race

MANILA, Philippines - Actor-host Edu Manzano denied reports that he is backing out of the vice presidential race.

In an interview on ANC's "Headstart," Manzano, the vice presidential bet of the ruling Lakas-Kampi party, stressed that he won't give up his candidacy.

"Categorically, I would like to say we have no idea where these all began. I'm running, and I'm running to win together with Mr. Gilbert Teodoro," Manzano told the show's host Karen Davila.

Manzano's statement came after his camp, through campaign manager Reli German, decried lack of support from the Lakas-Kampi party.

Manzano said German's words were just taken out of context.

"I spoke to Mr. German because I happened to be out of the country. Yes, he said that it was his statement, but what he meant to say was, while from the very beginning, there were funding and logistical problems, he said we continue with our campaign and we assess the situation as it comes along," Manzano said.

Contrary to popular belief, Manzano said the administration party does not have that much money to fund their campaign.

Manzano said that aside from his candidacy, the party is also looking at the needs of their local political bets.

Asked if Lakas-Kampi has kept its promise or if he is disappointed with what's happening to his campign, Manzano replied: "I'm not. I can't say that I'm disappointed but we are one team, but I guess, so are all the other candidates. Candidates of other parties are also saying that there's never enough money."

Manzano, who believes that TV ads can really help his candidacy, said that he plans to win the race via the traditional way.

"I'm out of Manila for 11 or 12 days in a row. Sometimes, I sleep on the road. We go from one region to the other, from one province to the other... We are doing it the old fashioned way," he said.

In the latest Pulse Asia survey, Sen. Manuel 'Mar' Roxas of the Liberal Party still had a double-digit lead over Nationalist People's Coalition's (NPC) Sen. Loren Legarda.

Roxas was the top choice of 43% of respondents while Legarda was preferred by 27%.

Roxas dropped 4 percentage points while Legarda was statistically the same as in the January 22-26 survey.

Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay got 15% support, Bayani Fernando got 4% while Manzano, the administration candidate was chosen by 2%, the same as in the January survey.

Bangon Pilipinas vice-presidential bet Perfecto Yasay got 1% support.