MANILA, Philippines?Senator Manny Villar on Thursday confirmed that he is considering his friend, Vice President Noli De Castro, to be his running mate in the 2010 elections.

Villar said he and De Castro have not yet talked the possibility of teaming up next year but at the proper time, he said, they would sit down to discuss this issue.

?Hindi pa naman. Wala pa kaming pinag-uusapan subalit gaya ng sinasabi ko ginagalang ko si Kabayan at talagang magaling naman yan (We?ve not yet talked, but like I said, I respect him, and he?s really good),? he said in an interview over radio.

?Kami ay mag-uusap sa tamang panahon nina Kabayan at saka iba pa. At magkakaliwanagan nyan isang buwan mula ngayon at pag malapit-lapit na ang deadline ng filing (He and I will talk at the proper time, perhaps one month from now, and when the deadline for the filing of certificate of candidacy draws nearer),? he said.

Talks of a possible Villar-De Castro tandem next year came up after the vice president declared that he is no longer running for president under the administration group.

Villar, president of the Nacionalista Party, and De Castro were members of the so-called ?Wednesday Group? in the Senate.

Villar denied that the administration had at one time considered him to be its standard-bearer, although he admitted that some members of the ruling party have been pushing for his candidacy.

?Me mga myembro na gusto ako suportahan pero sinasabi ko sa kanila salamat (Some members wanted to support me, but I just said thanks),? he said.