ZAMBOANGA CITY?Boxing sensation Manny ?PacMan? Pacquiao on Wednesday lectured soldiers about discipline, saying a successful trooper is no different from a successful professional boxer like him.
Pacquiao said the only difference is that a soldier is armed while a boxer isn?t.
?If you are a soldier, once you are hit, you cannot be sure if you could still fight back, while a boxer, once your opponent hits you, you can hit back,? Pacquiao jokingly told a crowd at the Camp Navarro General Hospital (CNGH).
Pacquiao, an Army reservist with a rank of Master Sergeant, distributed souvenir T-shirts to the troops with markings ?Bayani Ka Kawal Pilipino.?
He noted that soldiers are sacrificing a lot to make sure that Filipinos will have a peaceful and tranquil community to live in.
Pacquiao arrived here Wednesday afternoon together with Army chief Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano and other top officials and distributed gifts to wounded soldiers at CNGH, the military hospital located in this city.
From CNGH, they motored to Camp Basilio Navarro to visit the headquarters of the Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) and were welcomed by command chief Maj. Gen. Nelson Allaga and other Wesmincom military officers and civilian personnel.
Pacquiao and Yano flew, also on Wednesday, directly to Jolo from Manila and proceeded to Camp Gen. Teodulfo Bautista where the Army?s 104th Infantry Brigade headquarters is located.
They also visited and distributed Christmas gifts to the troops of the Army?s 35th Infantry Battalion stationed in the town of Indanan.
They returned to Jolo and boarded a Fokker to this city where they transferred to UH-1H helicopters and flew to Basilan and visited the troops in the province.
After resting overnight in this city, the two flew to Dipolog City early Thursday and visited troops of the Army?s 101st Brigade in Pi?an town, Zamboanga del Norte.
Pacquiao will be the guest of honor in a program commemorating the 67th Founding Day of Andres Bonifacio College in Dipolog City Thursday. After the program, Pacquiao and Yano will immediately fly back to Manila.
Yano said that their visit to south is part of his command?s Christmas visit and gift giving to the troops in the field.
