GENERAL SANTOS CITY -? World boxing champion Manny Pacquiao today retracted an earlier statement he made that the prime suspect in the killing of GMA Super Radyo reporter Jonathan Abayon was a part-time bodyguard of his, and he also appealed to the media to stop the verbal attacks against him, as ?God knows my conscience is clear.? In a press conference at a local hotel here, Pacquiao said William Bael, who is still at large and whom he described over national television as his part-time bodyguard and by a local police report as his volunteer bodyguard, has never worked for him.
?He (Bael) was never under my employ nor was he ever connected to me, my family and close friends,? he said.
But he admitted that the former Army sergeant, who has been charged with murder, had tagged along with his group in some local sorties being a close friend of one of his three regular bodyguards.
Jonathan, 27, a reporter and anchor at GMA radio station dxBB here, was reportedly shot by Bael in the head while on his way home at dawn last Sunday after a drinking spree with Pacquiao and died the next day.
Bael allegedly shot the victim following an argument while they were inside a pickup vehicle of a certain Gonzalo Lopez.
Lawyer Franklin Gacal Jr., Pacquiao’s legal counsel, clarified that his client just misdeclared Bael as a part-time bodyguard for lack of a better term.
?When you?re famous, many people would really try to tag along with you and in Manny?s case he?s just not the person who would turn his back on these people,? said Gacal, who also declared he would represent the champion in court.
Owing to this, the lawyer appealed to the local media to stop insinuating Pacquiao is guilty especially since there are speculations that the killing of Abayon was a conspiracy involving the boxing idol.
He said the media should stop attacking Pacquiao, as it has affected (his) preparations for his rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera in November.
The Filipino boxer dethroned Barrera last year as world featherweight ?people?s champion.?
Pacquiao said he wanted to clear his name totally before going to the US next month to start the physical training for his fight.
He said his handlers in the US were worried that reports on his alleged involvement in the incident might tarnish his reputation and eventually spoil the promotion for his fight against his Mexican opponent.
?I don?t want to be tagged with a bad boy image because I?m not one. And I don?t want to disappoint thousands of children around the world who look up to me as their idol,? he added.
Meantime, Pacquiao said he would help in any way he can to facilitate the immediate surrender of the suspect to give justice to Abayon’s death, which he said has shocked him and his entire family.
He also expressed willingness to extend financial help to the victim’s family, particularly his wife Leah and four-year-old son BanBan.
