MANILA - Actor Cesar Montano on Saturday explained why he posted a birthday video greeting where a naked woman was seen in the background, about four days after the clip went viral.

Montano drew controversy earlier this week after an unidentified woman who seemed to have no clothes on stepped into the frame of the former tourism board chief's video.

• READ: Oops? Did Cesar Montano accidentally film a naked woman in birthday greeting video?

“... [Y]ou won’t believe that I get thousands of requests for video birthday greetings, but the thing is, I can’t grant their requests to focus on the background instead of me," Montano told his close friend, columnist Dolly Anne Carvajal, who published his reaction on the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

"And a hundred other requests are for my voice-over greeting only so the video will zoom in on the background (laughs)," he said in his message to Carvajal.

The actor said he was also entertained by some spoofs of the video.

"My favorite spoof is by Buknoy. It totally cracked me up," he said.

Montano did not reveal who the mystery lady was.

Netizens earlier speculated that it was Bela Padilla, but the actress was quick to deny that she was the woman caught on camera.

• Bela confused as fan compares her to woman in Cesar Montano video

Montano's marriage with actress Sunshine Cruz was annulled in September this year..

Montano and Cruz were married in 2000 and have three daughters — Angelina Isabelle, Samantha Angeline, and Angel Franchesca.

He has another son, Diego Loyzaga, with actress Teresa Loyzaga.

• ‘New chapter’ for Sunshine as marriage with Cesar finally annulled