Edu Manzano rebuffed in Cebu convention?

By NEIL RAY RAMOS
December 1, 2009, 1:12pm


Actor Edu Manzano didn't get the star treatment when he visited Cebu recently.

The actor and game show host turned vice presidentiable was snubbed when he attended a sortie organized by One Cebu Party, a powerful group of politicians headed by Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.

According to reports, Manzano, who showed up wearing a One Cebu t-shirt at the event held at Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) summit hall, wasn’t even acknowledged when he entered the room.

Rather, organizers quickly ushered him into a holding room while running mate, former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr., was welcomed and lauded in another.

It turns out One Cebu Party would only commit with Teodoro, standard-bearer of the administration Lakas-Kampi-CMD coalition. This was explicit in an announcement made by Garcia during the party convention, Saturday.

One Cebu spokesman Rory Jon Sepulveda later explained that it wasn’t a snub. He admitted however, that the group didn’t invite Manzano, intimating that the party has yet to decide whom to support for vice president.

Sepulveda praised Manzano for being a gentleman, especially when the latter decided to leave the room and not force himself in the scheduled program. Manzano came back and mingled with the crowd when the program was over.

If Manzano failed to get an endorsement from One Cebu, he was able to get one from Lapu-Lapu mayor Arturo Radaza.

Manzano was met by Radaza, wife Paz, and 29 of 30 barangay captains at the Waterfront Hotel in Lapu-Lapu City. The Radazas assured Manzano that they would support him and his running mate.

Another group that showed support to Manzano is that of Cebu businessman Antonio Quisumbing, who is launching the “Edu Manzano for Vice President Movement” in Cebu this week.

According to Quisumbing, the movement has the support of "former vice mayors, councilors, and barangay captains."

Quisumbing said the movement intends to reach out to neighboring provinces in Visayas and Mindanao. He said several people in Mindanao have already pledged their support for the group.

Quisumbing extolled Manzano’s track record, citing the latter’s achievements as vice mayor of Makati City -- including that of being elected president of all vice mayors in the country, and sitting as member of the unions of local government units in the Philippines.


Source: http://mb.com.ph/articles/231971/edu-manzano-rebuffed-cebu-convention