Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim said Thursday that Manny Pacquiao will continue to be an adopted son of Manila despite his refusal to visit the city for a motorcade, even as he asked the city residents not to fret as the city government’s offer to Pacquiao stands.
Lim said though that the sentiments of Manilans are understandable, considering that they were hoping to see Pacquiao in person as they had been accustomed to, each time the boxing champion comes home victorious from a fight.
Pacquiao’s fight would have been shown live in the city’s various sports complexes but since the past city administration left the city government saddled with debts and financial obligations, the plan had to be scrapped.
Lim’s chief of staff Ric de Guzman said Solar Sports Entertainment, which has the rights to the live telecast of the said fight, was charging the city government a whopping P400,000.
The mayor directed that the said amount be instead spent on much-needed medicines for the city’s poor residents, who, way back during the campaign period, complained that the city-run hospitals and health centers lacked the necessary medicines for their indigent patients.
Meanwhile, city administrator Jesus Mari Marzan belied reports that not enough coordination was made with Pacquiao, stressing that they went through the proper channels including the television network that got the exclusive right to air Pacquiao’s fight and Solar Sports.
Marzan said tourism officer-in-charge Ofelia Co first called up Rico Arce of Solar who referred him to a certain James who was supposedly in charge of Pacquiao’s victory party.
James reportedly told Co to get in touch with the television channel that got the sole rights to air Pacquiao’s fight and when she did, she was referred back to Arce who told her to contact Eric Pineda, he being the business manager of Pacquiao.
It was also Pineda who sent a text message to Co Wednesday morning, saying that the boxer cannot attend the motorcade and that `maybe we can do it on his next fight.’
Marzan said Pineda called up Co at around 6:30 a.m. yesterday to say that they `will try’ to squeeze into Pacquiao’s schedule a courtesy call with Lim and promised to call again before lunch.
At 8:30 a.m., Co called up Pineda but was informed that Pacquiao and party were on their way to Malacanang and that his schedule was still being fixed.
As of 2 p.m., Co was still awaiting a call promised by Pineda but just the same, Co said she ordered the city band to be on standby the whole day in case Pacquiao decides to show up.
