Boxing icon and congressional candidate Manny Pacquiao doubled his security escorts for the final leg of his campaign in the first district of South Cotabato shortly after receiving death threats.
Pacquiao’s bodyguards increased to 10 from the regular five. The boxer’s bodyguards are former military men.
The doubling of the congressional bet’s bodyguards took place following rumors that he was ambushed. Talk that spread through text messages in South Cotabato and Davao said Pacquiao died after gunmen attacked him.
Pacquiao, however, remained unfazed.
?Ako pa? Naniniwala ako kapag oras mo na, oras mo na (I?m not afraid. I believe if it?s really my time, it’s my time),? he said.
Asked for his thoughts on who might have spread the rumors, Pacquiao said his political foes are likely to be behind them.
But according to incumbent Rep. Darlene Antonino-Custodio, Pacquiao’s main rival, her family is not behind the plot to kill the famed boxer.
Pacquiao, however, said: ?Hindi ko naman siya (Custodio) pinagbibintangan. Pero kaillan ba ako nakatanggap ng threats? Di ba nung pumasok ako sa pulitika? (I?m not accusing her but the point is, the death threats came when I entered politics),? said Pacquiao.
In a related report, Pacquiao’s campaign received a boost over the weekend when comedian and character actor Danny Labra arrived in General Santos over the weekend.
Labra, a close friend of Pacquiao, said he went to General Santos to help in the campaign and to endorse the boxer.
The actor, who played the role of villains, in the movies of the late Fernando Poe Jr., likened Pacquiao to the “king of Philippine cinema.”
“Napakabait ni Manny. Minsan lalapit lang ‘yan sa ‘yo at aabutan ka. Para siyang si FPJ (Manny is a very kind person. At times, he will just approach you and offer financial help just like FPJ).”
Aside from Labra, several other personalities from the showbiz industry are reportedly set to arrive in General Santos City on Monday to help Pacquiao campaign for the congressional seat.
