Edu Manzano apologizes for tweeting about PNoy and Grace Lee

President Benigno Aquino III directly addressed a tweet from actor Edu Manzano that the he was allegedly spotted at The Promenade in Greenhills on a date with Grace Lee earlier today.

In a speech during the celebration of the 115th founding anniversary of the Office of the President at the Palace on Thursday, Aquino denied he was in Greenhills, stressing that he was at the Palace presiding over the board meeting of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

"Medyo nakakatawa rin nang konti. Kanina ho may nag-tweet. Ako raw ay buong araw ay namamasayal sa Greenhills, may date," Aquino said.

"Meron talagang walang magawa. 'Yun 'yung kailangan natin ihanap ng trabaho. Dahil nag-iimbento ng kwento kung ano-ano. Pero tumawa na lang tayo. Ganun ho talaga siguro, parte na ng ating lipunan," he added.

In his speech, the President said that major projects were discussed during the NEDA board meeting, including the extension of the LRT 1 up to Bacoor, Cavite.

In a tweet by Manzano, posted March 21, he said “”PNoy and Grace Lee spotted at Promenade Greenhills today. In the middle of the day. To be fair, it IS a nice day for a leisurely stroll.” He, however, did not indicate whether he saw them personally or only heard about it from someone.

Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda immediately belied the tweet, still through Twitter. “@RealEduManzano Ur tweet is tsismis. The President is presiding over a NEDA Board meeting. It started at 10, the meeting is still ongoing”, Lacierda tweeted.

Manzano, after a while, retracted his tweet and apologized about it. ”Pnoy was NOT in Promenade with Grace Lee today. It was unconfirmed gossip, and I was overeager. I deserve all the backlash. Lesson learned”, was his post after Lacierda’s.

“Sorry for the confusion, everyone. In local parlance, ‘nakuryente’ ako, and I was foolish to tweet unconfirmed chismis”, he added.

Edu Manzano votes in Iloilo

Administration vice presidential candidate Edu Manzano voted in his precinct in Iloilo Monday, video on GMA Network showed.

Manzano flew to Iloilo Sunday, the television report said.

Manzano is among the tailenders in the surveys conducted in the run-up to the elections.

Gibo, Edu beg off from tandem debate

This early, Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard-bearers Gilbert Teodoro and Edu Manzano are begging off from the first ever tandem debates among presidential and vice-presidential candidates aired live nationwide on Sunday.

In a statement, Teodoro said he has already saturated forums and debates and now needs to concentrate on doing campaign sorties in the provinces. He said the start of the campaign period for local candidates could boost his campaign as he joins local bets of Lakas-Kampi-CMD.

He added that he will probably join the debates again in the last 2 weeks of the campaign.

His running mate, Manzano, also said he prefers to go directly to the voters instead of attending nationally-televised debates. Manzano said he shunned the first ever Harapan: The Vice-Presidential Debate on ABS-CBN last Sunday because he sees TV debates as just another venue for mudslinging.

"I did not attend the forum kasi mudslinging ang nangyari. Hindi siya nakakatulong. It does not address regional concerns ng mga tao," he told reporters.

He added: "At the end of the day, nakakatulong lang ito sa mga TV stations dahil sa mga ad spots."

There is also talk that other presidential-vice presidential tandems are planning to snub the debate after last Sunday's fiery debate among 6 vice-presidential candidates.

A political analyst, meanwhile, said candidates should not be afraid to join nationally-televised debates.

In an interview, Ramon Casiple of the Institute of Political and Electoral Reform said candidates who fail to appear in TV debates lose their chance to present their platforms in a very personal manner before a larger audience.

"TV is a very personal medium for viewers. It's not just what you say but your mannerisms, the way you answer, has an impact. In some ways, it has an even greater impact. Your total personality is observed and sometimes that's more important for voters," he said.

He added, however, that some candidates may purposely shun live debates since they cannot control what comes out on television.

Actor Edu Manzano not quitting VP race

Actor and television host Edu Manzano is not quitting the race for the vice presidency in the May 2010 elections.

Manzano made the categorical announcement Friday amid rumors that he was parting ways with running mate Gilbert Teodoro because of funding problems.

“Hinding-hindi ako aatras sa laban, iyon ang aking [I will never back down from a fight, that is my] categorical statement,” Manzano said on the morning show Unang Hirit when asked to clarify these reports.

Manzano appeared with Teodoro in the show in the network’s series of interviews with presidential candidates.

“In any election, candidates are never really contented with the support they get . . . it’s just natural to have misunderstandings sometimes,” Manzano said.

He said he was out of the country last week to campaign among overseas Filipino workers.

“The misunderstanding was internal, I don’t know how it got out of hand. . . . Kung may lukot pwede namang planstahin [if there are kinks, these could be ironed out]," Manzano added.

Manzano also joked that when he heard of the rumors of candidates withdrawing from the race, he said he thought it was his rivals, Mar Roxas and Loren Legarda.

He said he has full confidence in Teodoro and Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno, who convinced him to join the race.

Teodoro and Manzano have met and settled the actor's purported complaints about inadequate campaign funds, sources from the camp of the Lakas-Kampi Christian Muslim Democrats told INQUIRER.net.

The sources, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media, said Teodoro asked Manzano to make a public appearance with him to dispel speculations they were splitting.

Reli German, Manzano's campaign manager, griped about the lack of resources from the party. He said this was the reason the actor has no campaign advertisements yet.

Edu Manzano

Eduardo “Edu” Barrios Manzano is a Filipino actor, television personality, and politician. He is currently the host of Pilipinas, Game KNB?. Edu Manzano was previously the host of game shows Weakest Link and 1 vs. 100.

Edu Manzano is the co-founder of the non-profit advocacy organization called Ako Mismo, which is also supported by Manuel V. Pangilinan.

Edu Manzano entered politics in 1998 when he ran for Vice Mayor of Makati City. Edu Manzano garnered a majority of votes in the election, but his proclamation was suspended due to a case filed which alleged that he was not a citizen of the Philippines. The Comelec eventually ruled that he was indeed a Filipino citizen, clearing the way for his proclamation as Vice Mayor. Following a three-year term, he ran an unsuccessful campaign for Mayor of Makati City in 2001, losing to Jejomar Binay.

In 2004, Edu Manzano became the first chairman of the Optical Media Board, a government agency tasked with combating optical media piracy. Edu Manzano resigned the position in August 2009.

On November 13, 2009, it was announced that Edu Manzano will be Lakas-Kampi-CMD’s candidate for Vice President in the May 2010 election, and the running mate of presidential candidate Gilbert Teodoro.