Dumaguete City Mayor Agustin Perdices yesterday hinted he might not campaign for Lakas-Kampi-CMD vice presidential candidate Edu Manzano even if he will be sanctioned by his party.

Perdices will be running for vice governor under the Lakas Party, while his running mate incumbent vice governor Jose Baldado will be running for governor under the Nacionalista Party.

The mayor admitted that he was surprised when the announcement was made that Manzano will be the running mate of  Gilberto Teodoro. But it is the decision of the national officers of the party, he said.

Perdices said in his opinion Teodoro chose Manzano as running mate because  he needed a candidate that would  cater to the masses.

Teodoro is identified with elite voters and has a very low popularity rating in the surveys, he pointed out.

 Manzano is popular because he’s  a movie actor and game show host, but he believes he is not yet ready for the vice presidency, Perdices said.

Perdices said even if he is under the Lakas party he still cannot swallow the idea of asking people of  Dumaguete  to vote for Manzano. He will not be endorsing Manzano nor will he campaign against Manzano in Dumaguete, he said.

But he  will support Teodoro because he believes in his ability to manage the country, Perdices said..

Perdices said Dumaguete voters are  intelligent voters who know how to choose their  candidates.

He challenged the voters of Dumaguete, especially the young,  to carefully study and know the candidates they are voting. Popularity is not the basis for voting for a good candidate but knowing what they can do when they are elected into office, he said.

City Administrator Dominador Dumalag Jr. has decided to run for mayor in the 2010 local and national elections as an independent candidate.

Dumalag is considered resigned upon filing his certificate of candidacy on December 1. 

In an interview, the city administrator said he will be happy if given an endorsement by Perdices, but will not ask for it. 

He considers an endorsement a gift and will never ask for it from anybody.

Dumalag believes in his own strength in making good his intention to run with a complete slate, but said he may coalesce later with other political parties.*MA/JG

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