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Philippines, 24 Nov 2024 |
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MANNY PACQUIAO, A NATIONAL TREASURE By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Tue, 10 Jun 2008  When we had the privilege of being the Ring Announcer of the WBC International super featherweight title fight between Manny Pacquiao and Thailand?s Fahsan 3K Battery before some 30,000 roaring fans in the open air arena at The Fort in Tagig on December 11, 2004, thanks to the insistence of promoter Murad Muhammad and business manager Rod Nazario, we introduced Pacquiao as ?Our National Treasure.? Since then boxing writers, TV commentators fight publicists have stated ? mistakenly we may add ? that Pacquiao had been declared a national treasure by the Philippine government. It may not have been done officially but in many respects he is, because no single individual in living memory has helped earn the respect and admiration of millions at home and around the world by his amazing exploits in the ring as Manny Pacquiao has done for himself and his country. Despite virtually annihilating a succession of Mexican fighters including recognized legends such as Marco Antonio Barrera ?The Baby Faced Assassin? , Erik ?El Terrible? Morales and more recently Juan Manuel Marquez, Pacquiao is admired and respected even by Mexicans because he is, like them, a genuine warrior in the ring Every time he enters the ring, the nation stops as people from all walks of life and every facet of the political landscape come together for a few hours to celebrate his triumphs and to rejoice in his success. Millions line the streets for every homecoming motorcade and President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a steadfast supporter from the time Manny was not even a world champion, invariably honors him at Malacanang in a manner befitting a hero. Just recently Manny Pacquiao added another historic achievement to his long list of accolades. The Philippine Postal Corporation (PhilPost) issued both regular and special editions of the Manny Pacquiao stamps in the first week of June in a fitting prelude to the ?Lethal Combination? showdown with WBC lightweight champion David Diaz at the Mandalay Bay Resort Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on June 28. Pacquiao is the first and only Filipino athlete to be honored in such a manner and in the words of Postmaster General Hector Villanueva ?this is the least we can do for him.? Villanueva told Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today last Monday when The First Day Cover went on sale that he was proud of their project and ?we are proud of the fact that its Manny Pacquiao on that stamp.? The Postmaster General, one of the truly efficient but soft-spoken public servants paid tribute to Pacquiao as someone who ?epitomizes the true Filipino if given the opportunity. We are very proud of this Filipino.? The one remarkable dimension of Pacquiao?s character has been that before and after every fight he virtually pleads for an end to political bickering and calls for working together so the nation can move forward. Villanueva, in noting this remarked, ?I hope that this sporadic outburst of heroism and popularity will more than compensate for some of the rather pedestrian parochial issues that we have in congress and so on. He (Manny) seems to really look at the Philippines rather than himself and its something to be proud of. I gather he is really more intellectual than we give him credit for. He has a native acumen that is very exceptional.? PhilPost is presently working out the details of a simultaneous launch of the Collectors issue in the US with Pacquiao?s management team headed by business manager Eric Pineda and close friend, Ilocos Sur.governor Luis Chavit" Singson who played a crucial role in getting the project endorsed by Pacquiao who was accompanied by Pineda and Singson when the Memorandum of.Agreement was signed at the Post Office in Manila. Pacquiao personally handpicked the design of the stamps prior to his departure for Los Angeles last May 12. Pacquiao was very pleased with the design done by the Philately Division of PhilPost and said he was ?deeply honored by the stamp. I promise I will do my best every time I fight. The Filipino people are the real source of my strength. My utmost intention is to unite the Filipino people through my efforts in boxing.? The issuance of the special stamps honoring Pacquiao who is considered a legendary athlete and a living hero was conceived as a tribute to what he has done in bringing pride, honor and glory to the country by his amazing and exciting performances in the ring. Manny is the only Asian to win three world titles and is eyeing a fourth against Diaz on June 28. Pacquiao is regarded as a cinch to join countrymen Pancho Villa and Gabriel "Flash" Elorde in the boxing Hall-of-Fame. As Postmaster General Hector Villanueva noted ?He (Pacquiao) unites every conceivable faction in our country whenever he fights. No athlete has been able to achieve this feat, ever.? Ms. Elizabeth Tungol who heads the Pacquiao stamp project said that immortalizing Pacquiao through a stamp is ?immortalizing the indomitable spirit of the Filipino. From his lowly beginnings to what he has achieved and for all he has brought to our country and people, he truly deserves the honor.? Special stamps are issued by Philpost to promote, publicize and draw attention to outstanding people, events and objects of national and international significance. The Pacquiao stamps will be part of the? Kaya ng Pinoy? Series which will feature other outstanding Filipino athletes in the future. The Pacquiao stamp denominated at P7 comes in four different designs with the champion in unique fighting stances. The special issue for collectors comes in a beautiful, glossy souvenir folder containing special envelopes, stamps, articles and anecdotes signed by the ?Pambansang Kamao? himself. It sells for around P400. Pineda informed us that Pacquiao who saw our series of stories on the widely-read Philboxing.com website together with a photo of the stamps had instructed him to purchase 3,000 copies of the Collectors special issue which he is likely to give away to friends and fans in the U.S. Pineda initially acquired 1,500 copies last Thursday because the Post Office was besieged with with calls from collectors here and abroad . We were informed that limited quantities of the special issue for collectors were available for sale at Door 216, Manila Central Post Office in Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila . Inquiries may be made by calling telephone Nos. 527-01-32, 527-0085 (Ms. Cora Loza) and 527-10-18 (Ms. Aster Nodalo). Interested parties may also visit the website www.philpost.gov.ph When the First Day Cover stamps went on sale Monday morning (June 2) it signaled a rush for the initial offering of four stamps mounted on a cover and costing P7 each and a flurry of inquiries about whether the stamps were available in other post offices in Metro Manila and the rest of the country. The proud buyer who was the very first to acquire the special stamps which are a tribute to Pacquiao who is regarded as the greatest Filipino athlete of the modern era if not of all-time, was Edgardo Atienza of Silang, Cavite. Atienza was at the Manila Central Post Office as soon as the offices opened and bought several sheets of ?Pacman? stamps which he said was ?a gift for my sister now living in Belgium .? Top Rank promoter Bob Arum disclosed he would place a big order for the stamps which are certain to be a hit in the US where Pacquiao has a tremendous following among Filipino-Americans and other boxing fans including Mexicans. Top photo: The Manny Pacquiao stamps. 
HOF boxer Sugar Ray Robinson's US stamp. 
HOF boxer Joe Louis' US stamps. It came as somewhat of a surprise when the US Postal Service came in for criticism from some Americans for not honoring the likes of heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. The critics praised the Philippine Postal authorities for their welcome initiative. We discovered that former heavyweight champion Joe Louis, known as the ?Brown Bomber? and six-time world champion Sugar Ray Robinson were immortalized with commemorative postage stamps but only after their death. It turns out that from the moment Louis died of a heart attack on April 12, 1981, the U.S. Postal Service started receiving hundreds of letters from across the country requesting a postage stamp honoring the ?Brown Bomber.? The stamp was eventually issued 56 years after Louis won the coveted heavyweight title from James J. Braddock with a lethal right hand punch on June 22, 1937 and 55 years after he defended the title on the same date in 1938 annihilating Nazi Germany?s symbol of white supremacy Max Schmeling in a one round blitz. In April , 2006 the U.S Postal Service decided to honor the fighter that the prestigious Ring Magazine elevated as ?pound-for-pound the greatest fighter of all-time? - Sugar Ray Robinson. In a news release the Postal Service said one hundred million stamps, in the style of a vintage 1940s and 50s fight poster depicting Robinson in his peak fighting years were available in the New York City Post Office and nationwide beginning April 8, 2006. The simple inscription read ?The World?s Greatest Fighter.? Manny Pacquiao will almost certainly not sell a hundred million stamps and may never receive the supreme accolade of being named the world?s greatest fighter. But in the hearts of some eighty million of his countrymen here at home and many millions abroad, Manny Pacquiao is the greatest Filipino and Asian fighter of all-time and in a land searching for heroes Pacquiao is a genuine hero and above all else he is ?Our National Treasure.? Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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