Lawyer Adel Tamano admitted Saturday that defending popular cosmetic surgeon Dr. Vicky Belo is bad publicity for him that might ruin his senatorial bid.

Tamano said he knew that a number of people were “unhappy” with his decision to accept the case of Belo, who is facing criminal and administrative charges for allegedly masterminding the proliferation of the sex video collection of her boyfriend, Dr. Hayden Kho.

“Some people are criticizing me for taking on the case,” Tamano said at the weekly “Kapihan sa Sulo” news forum in Quezon City.

Tamano, however, said he could not afford to turn down someone like Belo who has been his client for many years.

“If people were unhappy with that, that’s fine with me. As a lawyer, I cannot decline a case on the flimsy reason of bad PR (public relations) and that it might spoil my chances of winning (a Senate seat),” he said.

He also maintained that Belo is innocent of the charges that she caused the uploading of the sex videos of Hayden with different women, including actress Katrina Halili. He said they have witnesses to prove this.

But Belo should now start looking for a new lawyer as Tamano said he has to drop the case before he files his certificate of candidacy before the Commission on Elections in November.

“I have to disengage. If the case will drag on, I can no longer handle it,” Tamano said.

He said he would also resign as president of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) before November.

Tamano recently resigned as spokesman of the United Opposition (UNO) and transferred to the Nacionalista Party (NP) of Sen. Manuel “Manny” Villar in preparation for his joining the senatorial race in 2010.

During the forum, Tamano also urged President Arroyo to publicly declare that she will step down next year and will not seek another government position after her term.

He also urged Mrs. Arroyo to use her remaining months in office to work for a smooth transition to her successor, who will be known less than a year from now.