Newly-appointed deputy national security adviser Luis ?Chavit? Singson on Sunday advised his friend, Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, against getting into politics this early.
?Tapusin lang [ang boxing] bago papasok sa politics dahil kako ang pulitika, napakarumi, so huwag munang pansinin. Concentrate muna sa boxing career,? Singson said in a dzMM interview.
Singson, who is always present in Pacquiao’s boxing matches in the United States, pointed out that the 29-year-old People?s Champ should finish his boxing career first, or two more years in the ring, before jumping on the political bandwagon.
He said Pacquiao should take advantage of his youth and speed.
?Pero marami kasi ang nanghihikayat kay Manny hindi lang sa [General Santos City], sa iba?t ibang probinsya pa dahil nga gusto nilang maglingkod si Manny. Si Manny kasi, hindi maka-hindi minsan, madalas umoo yan,? he added.
On the coming Pacquiao-Oscar dela Hoya bout, the former governor of Ilocos Sur said the Filipino fighter needs a lot of training because ?it?s a dangerous fight.”
Pacquiao is now officially in President Arroyo’s stable, at least politically, while on track in preparations for his monumental December 6 clash against 10-time world champion de la Hoya.
Pacquiao, the World Boxing Council lightweight champion and erstwhile congressional candidate from South Cotabato, formally took his oath on September 1 as member of the Kabalikat ng Mamamayang Pilipino (Kampi), the President’s political party.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno, who is also Kampi chairman, administered the oathtaking ceremonies for the 29-year-old four-time world champion in Camp Crame in Quezon City.
Puno told the media following the ceremonies that the prize fighter’s primary task as Kampi member is to help the government achieve peace in conflict-torn areas in Mindanao, such as those threatened by the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation front in North Cotabato province.
He said the administration also has the intention of fielding Pacquiao again as a congressional candidate in the 2010 elections. The boxer ran but lost as a congressional candidate of the Liberal Party wing of Environment Secretary Lito Atienza against reelectionist Darlene Antonino-Custodio in May 2007.
The party chairman added that it was better for Pacquiao to formalize his affiliation with Kampi now since this would give him more time to juggle his activities for boxing and politics.
