PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has hailed boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao as a ?Filipino sports hero? and says that she is looking forward to meeting him in Malaca?ang despite losing his boxing match Sunday. ?Manny is Filipino sports hero. He will always be welcome in Malaca?ang,? the President said on Monday, a day after Mexican Erik Morales defeated Pacquiao in a unanimous decision in the super featherweight division at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
In a radio interview, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said Pacquiao deserved a hero?s welcome, saying that the boxer has become a symbol of the ?Filipino?s fighting spirit.
?Manny Pacquiao displayed the Filipino?s true fighting spirit. He gave his best during the match. We are honored that we have a countryman like Manny Pacquiao,? he said.
Bunye said Pacquiao made the Filipinos proud by showing that he was a ?genuine warrior? because he continued fighting and finished the bout despite a cut in his right eyebrow.
?Kung mahina-hinang boxer iyon ay siguro kapag lumalaban kayo na iisa ang inyong mata at mahina ang loob niya, ay siguro tumigil na [If it was a fainthearted boxer, fighting with only one eye due to the cut], maybe he would not finish the match,? he added.
Bunye urged the nation to give Pacquiao a hero?s welcome when he returns.
