LOS ANGELES — He did not look exactly like The Accused.
The former Manila sportswriter, who adversaries inside Team Pacquiao here had grimly labeled the Pest, was not an itchy bug.
Neither was he a distant cousin to a wet fly or a grimy termite.
Winchell Campos, left in charge of Manny Pacquiao’s unit at the gated Pallazzo Residences on the classy side of La Brea Avenue, reported to the Wild Card Gym at the appointed hour on Wednesday noon.
“It was Manny (Pacquiao) who ordered new locks to avoid trespassers,” he opened up from his cool perch immediately after the main door of the second-floor training site.
It was furnace-hot outside, but Campos kept his cool, although there was pressure on him to explain his side on why he had to call in Los Angeles cops into the Pacquiao apartment on Sunday afternoon.
* * *
“You’ve got all your facts wrong — na-kuryente kayo, sir,” Campos mumbled, sounding like a gurgling baby with no worries whatsoever in the world.
Of course, he had a problem.
“I’d been planning to write an article to contest all the allegations they’ve hurled against me,” he said. “Pero ayaw ko na lang palakihin (But I didn’t want to blow the issue up.)”
“You could do that later, but I’ve a duty to get your side,” I reminded Campos.
“Well, in the first place, there were no pending cases here against me. I’m neat. Period. Those were all lies, what they told you. In fact, the guy who created all this mess is a nobody at the Sheriff’s Office. He’s a mere civilian employee, an X-ray technician.”
“So how did all this start, what was the root cause?”
* * *
It was pure and silly envy, Campos explained, without sounding harsh or hurt.
“Plain old crab mentality, you know the usual Pinoy fault. They did not want anybody to be better off than them. You could also say it’s the old saying of people ganging up on a tree that’s richly producing fruits — ’yun bang ang hitik sa bunga, binabato nila.”
He was asked why boxer Rodel Mayol, who was being repackaged under Pacquiao’s patronage, had to move out.
“Well, they tried to wreck me with Mayol — siniraan nila ako. But the boy was wise enough to discern what was fact and what was plain dirty gossip. Mayol left because his wife was coming over and they had to share their own apartment.”
“What about Bernie Torres, with whom you reportedly had a flaring confrontation.”
“He had to go, because there’s a rule here that if one person had stayed in one place for 30 days, you could no longer yank him out. I had to protect Manny’s interest. It’s my duty as his trusted guy here.”
* * *
As things stand, there are now only three people left in Pacquiao’s apartment here, namely Campos, trainer Nonoy Neri and assistant Alex Oreto.
Campos acts as the resident big boss, in the absence of the Pacman.
“But I don’t want to be called Chief of Staff or whatever,” Campos explained. “I’m merely in charge of the place. For the record, I never bought my way to self-respect. I earned it.”
Campos must’ve been relieved that he had let things out of his humble chest.
Of course, this did not necessarily mean peace, or whatever little remained of it, has returned to Pacquiao’s special nest here.
In fact, as we were rushing this piece, Greg Asuncion, Campos’ chief nemesis, sent a text message to dispute Campos’ claims.
“I have all the copies of all court records against Winchell. Let’s meet tomorrow, for your eyes only.”
Sorry, but I’ve promised Winchell this will be the last and final piece on the case. So this will be it, nothing more, nothing less.
Meanwhile, they have to wait for Manny Pacquiao to return and rule on who’s the pest and who’s the exterminator in this case.
Before Pacquiao could settle down when he returns to La Brea on Sept. 22, first day of Fall here, for the final push in his training against Marco Antonio Barrera, the Pacman, President and Legislator of his place, will have no choice but also assume the role of Chief Justice (of the Peace.)
* * *
(URGENT: From concerned basketball officials in Negros: “As stakeholders for a transparent and dynamic basketball organization, we at Region 6 are DISMAYED and DISAPPOINTED at the lethargy of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP). Signed: Jose “Jobol” Piamonte, Victorino Ledesma, Herminigildo Borromeo, Rumolo Estrebillo, Rudy Azcona… He could not make it to the funeral of his Lola, Zosima Gonzales Oreto, 85, but Alex Oreto of Team Pacquiao shares the sorrows of his family and relatives over the demise of their beloved grandmother, a native of Pila, Laguna, who was buried in Padre Burgos, Quezon, Thursday.)
