Far be it for this columnist to stick a little blade into the side of a Filipino treated far and wide as a national icon. His name is Manny Pacquiao and he should be spared the slings and arrows of ordinary commerce. But I can?t leave him off that easily for to do so would only worsen his character.
To begin with, I woke up bright and early Monday morning to keep an appointment with Manny Pacquiao. I was assured by Hermie Rivera, a boxing buff and an old and reliable friend, that the famous pugilist would only be too glad, in fact in his own words it would be an honor “to host Teddy Benigno in my residence Monday morning.” Well, I arrived at the precise time 9 a.m. at his BF residence in Paranaque and so did minutes later Hermie Rivera.
Manny Pacquiao was there all right. But gate security and the household help said he was fast asleep and could not be disturbed. He would awake sometime at high noon and we would have to wait. Not in all the many years I have been a journalist have I waited for even a president of the Philippines that long. Either the president kept his appointment or the hell with him. I figured my time was just as important as his time and if he couldn?t make it on time, he owed me an apology.
Why did Manny Pacquiao return home well past midnight?
Was he out on a carousal, a fast-stepping shindig with friends, or did he have an important, unexpected appointment with a party or parties. In either case, he could still go hang where I was concerned. And so, I left in a huff, and so did Hermie who apologized profusely for the mishap. He was presumably suckered and did not know it.
Well, the whole thing was unfortunate. My intention was to help Pacquiao get out of the financial mess he was in, get rid if this was still possible of all the leeches bleeding him dry. He was earning good and big money but others were pocketing more, particularly one Murad Muahmmed, promoter, who bilked the Filipino pugilist with the rapacity of a cheetah gorging on the throat of a fallen gazelle.
I had plans to organize a group of young or medium-aged Filipino businessmen, already extremely wealthy, who would take over the financial and other related problems of Manny Pacquiao. This was what the same kind of group did for Muhammad Ali many years ago when the vultures were set to move in. And well the group did. Since then, Muhammad Ali was spared the ill fortunes of so many professional boxers, like Joe Louis, the immortal Brown Bomber who retired dead broke, wondering where all the millions he earned went.
I also figured Manny Pangilinan could take Manny Pacquiao under his wing, make sure the General Santos boxer was in good care. Or somebody else like one of the taipans, or somebody from the Makati Business Club, one of the young Zobels maybe. I told Hermie Rivera about this, and he was all for it. I bothered about all this, because here was a great Filipino fighter, probably the greatest ever, who needed help. And I felt it was my wont to help in whatever way I could.
I didn?t know Pacquiao as a person. The least he could have done was apologize. He hasn?t. He is uncouth. Now I am close to believing all the horror stories about him. With that kind of character, he won?t go far, believe me.
