WHEN International Boxing Federation super-bantam champion Manny Pacquiao successfully defended his title for the fourth time in August 2003, crowds lined up from the international airport up to Makati. They chanted ?idol, idol? as Pacquiao?s motorcade drove by.
President Arroyo mentioned the new national hero in her State of the Nation Address.
Three months later, when Pacquiao humbled the legendary Mexican fighter Marco Antonio Barrera to become the new world people?s featherweight champion, the President assured him that the ?national Philippine hero of today? would be given a ?hero?s welcome.?
?We are very proud of our world class champion,? beamed the President.
Congress welcomed Pacquiao?s win as a ?temporary relief? from the political bickerings dividing the country.
