Manny Pacquiao has decided to postpone his departure for the US to May 12 so he can attend the formal turnover rites of Army chief Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano, who will assume the post of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief Of Staff from Gen. Hermogenes Esperon. Pacquiao was supposed to leave on May 10 but the reigning WBC super-featherweight king has apparently had a change of heart so he can personally be present when Yano, a close friend of the boxing star, assumes the AFP’s top post. “He told me that he will attend the turnover ceremonies of Lt. Gen. Yano on Monday,” said Rey Golingan, the boxing patron from General Santos City who once had Pacquiao under his stable of amateur fighters. Even if Pacquiao leaves on the night of May 12, he would still arrive in Los Angeles on the same day, just in time for a press conference scheduled the following day. Pacquiao’s foe on June 28, David Diaz, will also be present. Before flying to Manila on Sunday, Pacquiao will work out at the gym of Golingan until Saturday.
