MANNY Pacquiao shouldn’t have been elected as senator of the Philippines, that’s what I and a few other sportswriter friends I know. He has no track record to speak of, not even as a congressman. But now that he has been elected, I think it’s time to give our fighting congressman turned senator the benefit of the doubt.
The people have spoken, so to speak, and to blast the voters for a ‘stupid choice,’ as some have been venting online, is an exercise in futility.
If the president, whether you voted for him or not, gets a 100-day honeymoon period, let’s give Manny the benefit of the doubt, too. Who knows, he may end up proving his doubters wrong and that’s victory for all of us, his supporters and critics included.
But I do hope that now that he has been elected to the Senate, (well, based on the unofficial tally, only a miracle can bar him from the top 12), he will finally issue a categorical statement on his retirement from all sort of sports?boxing, billiards and even that much ballyhoed stint of his in the PBA.
He’s a senator, not a part-time (put-in his favorite past-time) and he owes those who elected him and those who oppose him and must show he deserves to be in the senate by, one, being in the senate. As a congressman, he was what? In congress only for four days in three years?
The man who has transformed himself from a one-dimensional boxer when he broke into the world’s consciousness with a sixth-round knockout of Lehonoholo Ledwaba in 2001 into a savvy politician, could very well surprise as some more. But I’m hoping it would be a more of a pleasante surprise and not the he’s-a-PBA-rookie surprise.
And as intriguing and enticing a match-up between a senator of the Philippines and the brash Floyd Mayweather would be, Manny, Bob Arum and Freddie Roach must end all talks of that.
Manny’s focus should no longer be in Manny the boxer but on all Pinoys, or to be specific, the Filipino athletes as he has vowed during the campaign trail.
There are many problems hounding Philippine sports, money among the chief primary concern.
There is that pending move by Yeng Guiao to compel Pagcor to hand over the full five percent of its income to the Philippine Sports Commission, which now amounts to P4 billion since 2010. And, mind you, I hope that gets attention because it has become so controvesial that dismissed Philippine National Police chief Cesar Purisima has been accused of receiving almost P1 billion that was intended for the PSC.
Pacquiao, as the most prominent sports personality in the House of Congress right now, should lead the investigation into that.
We deserve to know what happened, considering that the Philippines has performed dismally in international meets since 2010 and the PSC has always blamed the lack of funds for it. It seems we have the funds, it just didn’t go to where it was supposed to go.
Pacquiao could also team up with his namesake of sorts, the 1Pacman party-list, a group which ran with the hopes of establishing a Department of Sports in the country. Like the Pacman, 1Pacman is set to win a seat in congress.
So Manny, I hope you really prove your critics wrong and you will be working as hard in the Senate as you prepared for your upcoming fights when you were an active fighter. Emphasis on the ?were.?
