IN the words of an avid ?Pacman? fan, this is how Filipinos celebrate a ?clean? victory.
With a crowd-drawing power exceeding that of any show biz celebrity or politician, boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao returned home yesterday to the cheer of tens of thousands in the streets of Manila and Quezon City, five days after crushing a Mexican boxing legend.
Mammoth crowds turned up for his five-hour victory parade, postponing lunch, stopping classes, or leaving work just for a glimpse of the 27-year-old fighter in a triumphal motorcade. Even if it rained on his parade, the sun was up in the hearts of the admiring multitudes.
Freda Pelisco, a 55-year-old street vendor from North Harbor, came as early as three hours before the parade started, holding up a montage of Pacquiao?s front page photos which she had neatly pasted on folders.
?Everybody?s happy because we all know he won fair and square. His victory was clean,? she said in Filipino, in an apparent reference to Print this story Send this story Write the editor Reprint this article View other stories
the country?s unresolved political issues.
Non-stop applause greeted Pacquiao throughout a route of 34 streets starting from City Hall, to the Binondo Chinatown, to the slums of Tondo, to the stretches of Espa?a and Quezon Avenue, and other parts of Quezon City, including the ABS-CBN and GMA Network compounds.
Greeted at every turn by ?Pacquiao? chants from men, shrieks from teenage girls, and applause coming from office windows and balconies, the warrior waved back at admirers from a float specially designed for his homecoming.
The float?a vast improvement from his past motorcades which merely used an unadorned mini-truck or SUV?was a hero?s shrine on wheels, with Philippine flags and sun rays forming the backdrop, above which hovered a symbolic dove of peace.
The vehicle?s front featured giant boxing gloves made of papier mach?.
The champ shared the float with another winning Filipino boxer from the Jan. 22 fight night in Las Vegas: Jimrex Jaca.
Hitching a ride
But both ring masters were nearly outmaneuvered for exposure by a group of local politicians who literally hitched on their triumphant ride.
The motorcade, which started at around 10:30 a.m., fittingly started near the monument of plebeian revolutionary leader Andres Bonifacio, as though signaling that the whole affair would be a treat for the Pinoy masses who have embraced Pacquiao as their modern-day hero.
Not since FPJ
And the masa did pour out in full force for the former bakery helper from General Santos City who went on to become one of the most colorful rags-to-riches stories in Philippine lore.
The parade, which went on without pause despite brief rainshowers, induced the most creative expressions of idol-worship not seen since the 2004 presidential campaign of the late movie icon Fernando Poe Jr.
Teenage boys released pet pigeons on cue. A dragon dance and later an ati-atihan troupe greeted Pacquiao?s convoy through Chinatown.
Fireworks erupted and confetti rained down every few blocks.
A demigod
Everyone with a cell phone-camera simply had to take snapshots of the passing sports celebrity. Even along the slums of North Harbor, some residents had a good view from their rooftops, surprisingly toting expensive digital cameras and handycams.
The legions had found a demigod.
And they both praised and teased him, as shown by some of their placards.
Some conveyed pure admiration by calling Manny ?The National Fist (Pambansang Kamao)? and ?The Thorn of Mexico.?
The Inquirer saw at least two placards that screamed: ?Pacquiao for President.?
?Bear me a child?
But then Pinoy humor expectedly went to work. A man bore a cardboard sign saying ?Manny Pa-Kiss (Give me kiss).? Others pleaded: ?Manny, isang suntok naman d?yan (How about a punch?)? and ?Manny, anakan mo ako (Let me bear your child).?
Street peddlers tried to cash in and offered Pacquiao pins and shirts.
But perhaps the most telling sign of Pacquiao?s stardom was the emergence of his very own impersonator, who lingered at the Manila City Hall grounds at the start of the parade, hoping for the press to take notice.
His stage name: ?Manny Paksiw (after the name of vinegar-based dish).?
Uniting a nation
Cheers of ?Manny! Manny!? broke the early morning stillness as soon as fans saw him emerge from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Centennial Terminal 2.
The cheers sounded like the voice of a proud nation welcoming home a son who had single-handedly brought together a people deeply divided over politics.
More than a hundred fans waited patiently outside the airport.
Pacquiao?s gym
?I?m not sleepy,? 5-year-old Jonalyn Ryan Fernando said in Filipino. ?I want to see my idol.?
Fernando?s father, Almirante, said Jonalyn told him he wanted to see Pacquiao in person.
Thus, father and son joined their neighbors in Barangay 463 in Sampaloc, Manila, which formed a delegation to meet Pacquiao.
The gym where Pacquiao had trained for more than 10 years is located on Paquita Street in Barangay 463, according to its chair, Bomber Paneloza.
Which explains the barangay?s deep affinity for the man who knocked out Mexican boxing hero Erik Morales.
Pacquiao?s friends from the Guardian ?Tiger? Contingent Inc. also came.
?We love him. He?s a true Filipino. His punches are for the masses!? Ernie Evangelio, 28, said.
Family reunion
Pacquiao was eager to see his two sons, craning his neck to look for them in the sea of welcomers.
As he made his way down the stairs, he finally saw 5-year-old Emmanuel Jr. and 4-year-old Michael Stephen.
Pacquiao?s mother, Dionisia, also came.
Passengers waiting for their luggage, customs and immigration officers, and practically the entire Terminal 2 stopped to welcome Pacquiao with cheers.
Uproar over Atienza
The Manila mayor?s son, former Councilor Kim Atienza, caused an uproar among media people who had followed the rules set by the airport authority for the coverage.
The media had been told to stay behind the railings and advised that Pacquiao would not make any arrival statement.
However, the younger Atienza, who hosts a morning show on ABS-CBN, stood right beside Pacquiao during the photo op at the stairs to get an exclusive interview.
He stopped the interview after an airport official told him about the howls from protesting media people.
Presidential son Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo also arrived with his family on a different PAL flight about an hour before Pacquiao faced the media but was largely ignored by journalists.
National Capital Region Police Office Director Napoleon Catchuela collapsed at the airport due to fatigue shortly after Pacquiao?s plane touched down.
At the Manila City Hall, red, white and blue confetti rained down as Pacquiao and his entourage arrived to the cheers of hundreds of people, who later turned into a mob.
?I hope Filipinos can unite,? Pacquiao told reporters. ?I offer my victory to the people.?
Asked if he was willing to help unite Filipinos, particularly military in the face of talk of unrest in the ranks, Pacquiao said he would help to the best of his ability.
Pacquiao refused to comment when asked if he was willing to help the government in its drive for constitutional reform.
?I don?t know anything about that. No politics for now, let?s focus on sports for now,? he told reporters. With a report from Tina Santos
