Manny Pacquiao?s bout with American Chris Algieri in Macau is over, with the Filipino boxing icon winning convincingly.
The post-fight celebration is winding down. Manny and the people that he funded to tag along with him, more than 300 according to reports, are back in the Philippines. The Pacman even got a hero?s welcome in Gen. Santos City yesterday.
In that fight last Sunday, Pacquiao showed that he is still good in his main job, which is to fight in the ring. But some analysts say he only has a few fights left before he retires. The boxing world hopes that one of those fights would be against American Floyd Mayweather Jr.
But before we will know if the fight will materialize, the Pacman will, in the meantime, attend to his other passion. He is playing-coach of the Kia team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
Pacquiao, though, left the coaching chores to his assistant while he was training for the Algieri fight. With the bout over, he is expected to get back at the helm of his team, which now has more losses than wins.
In Macau, Pacquiao was able to showcase his religion by having pastors of his church sing the Philippine national anthem during the fight. Before that, reports say he is constructing a two-story church building in Gen. Santos City. Pacquiao is not only a boxer and coach but has been elected for two terms as congressman of Sarangani province.
Chances are he will use his own money to finance the construction of the church because sourcing it from government funds would be illegal.
Still, that brings us to the matter of his being a legislator. Do we have to continue to give him a pass for his failure to attend well to the job just because he continues fighting and winning in the ring?
The last time we checked, Pacquiao topped the House of Representatives in the number of absences during sessions. The main reason for this is that he does not show up in the House when he trains for his fights. That compounds his lackluster performance as lawmaker.
If this was another legislator, the criticism would have been harsh. But this is the Filipino boxing icon. Still, it would be good for the House leadership to look into the Pacquiao situation to ensure that his constituents in Sarangani won?t be shortchanged.
