Manny Pacquiao?s latest fight is one that is far more important to his nation than any bout he may ever have, even if it is the elusive so called ?Dream Fight? against unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr.
First, let me make two points about Pacman?s principled stance against the Filipino government supporting artificial contraceptives and family planning advice.
One, Pacman?s widely reported no condoms campaign gives new meaning to, ahem, the expression ?internal affairs,? with the emphasis on both ?internal? and ?affairs.?
Two, in my humble opinion, Pacquiao is in the wrong corner, siding with the Catholic Church in the vast majority Catholic country. Surely Pacman?s aggressive position on what all agree is a hot button issue will earn him that family visit with The Pope that I suggested last year.
The 32 year old fighter, so admired for his rise out of abject poverty, does not see any shades of gray in the family planning controversy.
?God said, ?Go out and multiply.? He did not say, ?Just have two or three kids,? Pacquiao was quoted as saying in a report by AFP after he met with bishops this past Tuesday.
Pacman The Politician, the sitting Congressmanny from desperately impoverished Sarangani Province, must know that carrying the day on this highly charged issue won?t be easy as dropping Sugar Shame Mosley on the seat of his pants was on May 7 in Las Vegas.
Look, I am not the devout Roman Catholic that Pacquiao is.
I wish I was but I?m more of a Roaming Catholic and I see the merit in the arguments of those who believe the Vatican should not be mandating anything regarding sex in general and women?s bodies in particular.
Maybe you know the old joke about the sunny afternoon when The Pope lectured a huge crowd about how wrong birth control is. An elderly Italian lady with many children and a boatload of grandchildren listened intently.
When The Pope was done speaking, he passed by the now angry lady who said to him, ?Hey, Pope, when it comes to sexual issues, I say to you, with all my respect, you no play the game so you no make the rules!? Advertisement
We could go deeper and get into how the Church should be cleaning up its own sex-related problems like the constant instances of priests abusing trusting children but I?ll leave that alone for now.
I find it ironic that Pacman, who I am sure is totally sincere, is now a rich, powerful and influential person co-signing the position of the rich, powerful and enormously influential Church.
I?m sorry, but on the matter of reproductive health, I think President Benigno Aquino III is in the right. Pacman even went to visit Aquino at Malacanang Palace on Friday to discuss the issue.
Aquino?s five point position on responsible parenthood, which leads off with allowing ?couples the right to choose how best to manage their families? is far more nuanced that the fighter?s simplistic position.
In his fourth point, President Aquino references poor and disadvantaged couples, who he says are in ?no position to make an informed judgment, the State has the responsibility to so provide.?
Maybe Pacquiao needs to reflect back on the struggling years when he and his brothers and his sister barely got by.
In Aquino?s view, the government is just outlining options and putting out educational information and, yes, that includes making condoms available to the poor.
On this issue, his first big and national political platform, Pacquiao will lose eventually.
He?s leading not with his chin, but his big heart and that is not a good habit for someone who may wind up residing at Malacanang Palace down the line.
My scorecard on reproductive health issues is, as I apologize for possibly being seen as meddling in a Filipino controversy, has Aquino the winner over Pacman.
It?s Mr. Aquino by split decision over Mr. Pacquiao but, remember when they square off, it?s like some four round boxing novice try to compete in the ring against Manny.
Experience wins for Aquino.
