Presidential hopeful Senator Manuel “Manny” Villar Jr. declared on Saturday that he has no intention to ask for any kind of help from the Arroyo administration for his intended candidacy, saying his party is capable of running its own election campaign next year.

Villar, titular head and standard bearer of the Nacionalista Party (NP) in the 2010 polls, said he was also not hoping that the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD will still adopt him as presidential candidate now that his friend, Vice President Noli de Castro, is already open to the possibility of running for president under the administration banner.

“Hindi ako umaasa. Wala naman akong hinihintay na blessing o funding. Basta ang strategy namin sa NP ay tuloy-tuloy lang,” Villar said at the weekly “Kapihan sa Sulo” forum in Quezon City.

Villar has been named as one of the 40 richest Filipinos in the recent edition of Forbes Asia magazine. Ranking No. 9 with a net worth of $530 million or about P25 billion, Villar can be considered as the country’s wealthiest public official. Aside from being a senator, he has interests in real estate, which includes listed home developer Vista Land and Lifescapes.

During the forum, Villar said he expects a “friendly fight” among him, De Castro and former President Joseph Estrada, who is also a friend of his. Villar, De Castro, and Estrada are perennial front-runners in presidential surveys.

“Hindi ako ‘yung tao na mahilig makipag-away. Parehong kaibigan ko sina President Erap at Vice President de Castro. Hindi ako makikipag-away sa kanila dahil napakarami nating problema na dapat lutasin ‘dun na lang natin ubusin ‘yung oras natin,” Villar said.

At the same time, Villar refuted longstanding rumors that he has offered himself to President Arroyo to be the standard bearer of the administration.

“I deny that. I never offered (myself to the administration). I’ve never seen the President since I was removed as Senate President,” the lawmaker said.

Meanwhile, Villar said he has yet to choose his running-mate as it is not yet certain who among the so-called “presidentiables” will actually push through with their candidacies.

“At this point, hindi magandang kumuha ng VP dahil hindi mo alam kung sino-sino talaga ang tutuloy. Mag-uusap-usap naman ‘pag final na for possible
realignment. Normally realignment happens on the last day (of the filing of candidacy),” he said.