BOXING champion Manny Pacquiao was conned by a man who pretended to be a father of a five-year-old boy suffering from meningitis.
Pacquiao gave P3,000 to one Charlie Reboquio, but he later found out that only P1,000 was given to the boy?s family.
?Hindi naman natutulog ang Diyos kaya siya na ang bahala sa kanya, (Let?s just leave it to God. After all he never sleeps),? Pacquiao said in an interview with GMA 7 Balitang Bisdak.
Reboquio went last Thursday to Pacquaio?s practice to ask for financial assistance for his five-year-old son, Rommel Vosotros Jr. who is suffering from acute bacterial meningitis and must have a CT scan, which costs P3,800.
The boxer gave Reboquio the money because he presented documents.
?Galing din ako sa hirap at naranasan ko rin kung gaano kapait ang walang wala talaga (I was poor and I also experienced how it feels to have nothing),? Pacquiao said.
Reboquio showed him a photocopy of the child?s medical slip and a prescription for a CT scan.
When the boxer asked Reboquio why his son?s family name is different from his, Reboguio said he is not married to the child?s mother.
?Charlie said that he did not expect Manny to give them financial aid. He was overwhelmed that he claimed the child was his son,? Rommel Vosotros Sr. said in Cebuano.
Vosotros, 36, a fisherman from Barangay Bakhawan in Daanbantayan, Cebu, is the real father of the child.
Around 7 a.m. last Friday, Reboquio went to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) pediatrics ward and gave the Vosotros family P1,000.
?Although we only received P1,000, we are still very grateful to Manny Pacquiao for his help,? said Eugenia Vosotros, 34, mother of the boy.
The boy was taken to the VSMMC around 3 a.m. last Wednesday after his family noticed that he had no appetite and was unresponsive.
A day later, Reboquio arrived at the ward and asked the patients? families who among them was from Bantayan. Vosotros told him they are from Daanbantayan.
Reboquio approached the Vosotros family and said that he was going to help them look for financial aid.
He asked Vosotros to photocopy the medical slip and the prescription for the CT scan so that he could present these as proof.
?He promised us that he will help seek financial aid,? Vosotros.
Reboquio is not their relative or friend.
Vosotros just met Reboquio that day. They were desperate that they trusted him.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao will intensify his sparring sessions to perfect his game plan against Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera in their rematch on Oct. 6 (Oct. 7, RP time) at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Resort Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
After an afternoon off last Saturday and a day off last Sunday, Pacquioa sparred for six rounds yesterday with Mexican Raymundo Beltran and Filipino Arnel Tinampay, bringing his sparring rounds count to 60.
But today, American trainer Freddie Roach will add six more sessions, this time with Mexican David Rodela and Filipino Aaron Melgarejo.
Their goal is a total of 130 rounds before they will leave for the US.
