I finally heard it from Manny Pacquiao himself yesterday morning as he was being interviewed by Snow Badua on Sports Radio. “Sigurado na akong tatakbo sa darating na eleksyon, hindi pa lang ako nakapag-decide kung ano ang posisyong tatakbuhan ko” (I am definitely running in the coming elections, although I have not decided yet which position I will run for), declared the national icon who has been credited with uniting a nation known to have been polarized for so long.
I had just stepped out of the Sport Radio booth after my own radio program and was driving away when I heard Snow speaking with Pacquiao on the latter?s cellphone as the tenacious newscaster/reporter was able to catch him while the boxing great was in Manila.
They first talked about his next fight which Pacquiao revealed was to be in Texas on April 14 against Mexican Jorge Solis, the 27-year-old Tijuana native ranked No. 2 by the WBC and No. 4 by the WBO, but in the Featherweight division (126 lb. limit). The Pacman fights in the 130 lb. Super Featherweight class.
Asked if Solis was a worthy opponent, Pacquiao said he thought so, owing to Solis? impressive 32-0-2 (23KO?s) record and the fact that he is a world-ranked fighter. As a matter of fact, Pacquiao said he has started his training as early as yesterday, doing road and gym work. He says he intends to be in the States sometime in March to train at the Wild Card gym.. Informed that Freddie Roach had said that he was leaving end of February for Puerto Rico to train Oscar de la Hoya, the Pacman was non-committal and said that he would discuss schedules with Roach himself. He did not discount the possibility of training in Puerto Rico.
I?m sure Bob Arum will have something to say about that, though.
Back to his political plans, Manny seems to have already made up his mind, indeed. The way he was talking, he seemed to be gearing up for the political battle ahead. When pressed which position he was more interested in, he replied it was the General Santos mayoralty.
When Badua informed him that he had interviewed current GenSan Mayor Jun Acharon and the latter wanted to know what Manny was going to bring to the table if he was elected, Pacquiao confidently retorted “Mas malaki!” (a lot more!). Asked to elaborate, he said he wanted nothing more than to be able to serve his citymates in General Santos.
Hmmm. shades of the savvy politician who resorts to motherhood statements and double-speak. The Pacman catches on fast.
But most people nowadays need more than generalized promises and good intentions. Hopefully, in the days to come, Pacquiao will be more able to explain to the citizenry what it is that he plans to do if elected as a public official. Who knows, perhaps he just might surprise us with something else other than his vaunted left hook.
But the truth is, most people feel that Pacquiao has served Filipinos well in his on-ring adventures. He is bigger than a local public official who delivers basic services to his constituents. Pacquiao is a national figure who has given hope, happiness and satisfaction to millions across the archipelago. Not to mention countless expatriate Filipinos who now hold their head up high as they bask in the shadow cast by the Pacman.
Of course Manny has every right to test the political waters, just as anyone who is of age and is a natural-born Filipino is. Those who question his educational deficiencies and administrative competence and experience will only be told to read the constitution to discover that Manny meets the requirements as stated in the national law.
Never mind the argument that every other job requires a qualifying examination or educational preparation. One cannot be a policeman, teacher, or even a lowly government clerk without undergoing some sort of competency test, such as the civil service eligibility test. But to be elected as a public official, one just needs to be a Filipino, of legal age, and be able to read and write.
And Manny Pacquiao meets the aforementioned requirements and can also box besides. It is up to the people then, of General Santos to judge whether Pacquiao indeed is deserving and fit to serve as a government official.
And if you ask most political pundits, they will tell you that Pacquiao is indeed “winnable”. Which to this jaded observer seems to be the only criterion most king-makers now look at. We only need to figure out how the idea to run came to Pacquiao?s mind and why he seems overly-obssessed by it.
Still, we are perplexed with the big number of fans who continue to voice out their objection to Pacquiao?s entering the political arena. The reasons are varied, ranging from the effect it would have on his still active boxing career, to the exploitation by opportunistic politicians, to questions of competence.
But as I pointed out to the many listeners who texted in their objections to Pacquiao?s candidacy in my program- in the end- it will be a decision to be made by Pacquiao himself and the voters whose verdict he will woo. We can only hope and pray that all of them are guided providentially in that crucial decision-making.
May God have mercy on this country.
