MANILA, Philippines ? Senator Manual ?Mar? Roxas II now calls himself a ?Regal baby.?

Roxas gave this title to himself after receiving the public endorsement Wednesday night from one of the biggest movie producers in the country and Regal films matriarch, Mother Lily Monteverde.

?Ako?y nagpapasalamat kay Mother Lily. Biro mo, eh talagang out of the blue, hindi ko naman inaasahan; hindi ko naman siya talagang kilalang masyado at nagpaabot siya na ?Mar alam mo, pinag-aralan ko yung pagkatao mo at lahat,? pina feng shui daw nya lahat at sabi nga nya susuporta ako sayo, (I am grateful to Mother Lily. Imagine, it?s really out of the blue and I wasn?t expecting it. I don?t really know her that well and yet she told me, ?You know Mar, I studied your personality,? she even asked a Feng Shui expert and she told me she supported me),? the senator told reporters on Thursday.

?Nagpapasalamat ako kay Mother Lily na isang Regal baby na din ako (I am thankful to Mother Lily that I am now a Regal baby),? said Roxas, who is running for vice president in the May elections.

But the senator?s closest rival, Senator Loren Legarda, was unfazed by Monteverde?s endorsement of Roxas, saying that ?deep in her (Monteverde) heart, alam nya kung sino ang mahal nya.?

Legarda said Monteverde called her last week and informed her that she was arranging a press conference for Roxas.

?And I said, ?ok lang Mother.? (?It?s okay, Mother?) Alam nyo, ang pagkakaibigan namin ni Mother goes beyond politics (My friendship with Mother goes beyond politics). Openly, in many elections, palagi niya ako binibigyan ng presscon (Openly, in many elections, she always gives me a presscon). Hanggang ngayon ay tinutulungan pa rin ako in many more ways than one (Until now she still helps me in many more ways than one). More than a press con,? she told a regular forum in the Senate.

?Deep in her heart, alam nya kung sino ang mahal nya (she knows who she loves),? Legarda said, ?Alam nyo sa panahon ng pulitika, yung mga endorsement may be political but friendships and relationships go beyond political endorsement (You know, during election period, the endorsements may be political but friendships and relationships go beyond political endorsement).?

Legarda said Monteverde ?continues to be a good friend, and as a mother, she treats me like her own daughter.?