I don't believe that a child this young is manipulating – that is the final result, of course, because of the way parents respond to it, but he's not "planning out" his behavior in the usual sense of "manipulation." So responding to him punitively will get results, but perhaps not the results we hope for, or the underlying emotional reaction that will get the best, healthiest, long-term results.
All behavior is a means to get some need met. Especially in such a young child, behavior is pretty spontaneous and based on underlying needs – in this case, your son longing for as much quality time as possible with the daddy he adores.
It's so important not to take a child's behavior personally. He's really not rejecting you, he's expressing a strong preference and longing for his dad during the limited time he's available. It looks and feels like meanness toward you because a 2.5 year-old's emotional repertoire and vocabulary are so limited. In truth, if YOU were the parent available more on weekends, he'd probably be pushing daddy out of the way to get to mommy. And if you were to disappear from his life, he'd be devastated.
Rather that give him the message "X behavior is unacceptable and will get you punished," K. generally respond more positively and quickly to "I see by X behavior, you want/need more of Y. I really, really understand. I wish we could give you as much Y as you want. More, even! Now, let's go and do Z, so you'll have some time to do Y afterward."
My grandson never has reason to tantrum, and his acting out has almost disappeared since instituting this approach a couple of years ago (he's now 4.5). Though he does receive the logical consequences for his choices, punishment has virtually disappeared from his life – there's no need for it. His parents (or grandparents) don't have to coerce or manipulate him, or seldom even raise our voices, to get his calm, respectful,or often even cheerful, cooperation.
If this sounds as wonderful to you as it is, I hope you'll google Emotion Coaching to learn more. Here's one very informative link to get you started: http://www.education.com/reference/article/important-pare... . There are also some terrific books working with these techniques. One of my favorites is by Faber and Mazlish, How to Talk So K. Will Listen, and Listen So K. Will Talk.