I don?t have the expertise of Recah Trinidad or Quinito Henson in boxing, especially since I only watch the fights of Manny Pacquiao and young Filipino boxers who serve as front acts in big bouts. But it was obvious to this layman that in last Sunday?s fight Pacquiao was fighting way below par. Many of his deadly punches were not hitting their target, and Antonio Barrera himself acknowledged he didn?t feel many of them. Let?s just say that Pacquiao fought far better fights in the past, including his memorable knock-out wins, whereas Barrera obviously prepared hard, although the Mexican?s best wasn?t good enough for the Filipino champ even at his worst.
There are stories about Pacquiao?s late nights out in Los Angeles bars and an affair with a movie actress, etc. He has gotten all kinds of movie offers. If these are true, then our champ seems to lack the self-discipline that?s an absolute must among sports people. It might be good for him to consider retiring as a champ.
By the way, I?m not surprised that many viewers were irked by too many ads in the GMA Network coverage of the Las Vegas fight. There must have been anywhere from 12 to 15 between rounds, and there ought to be some kind of regulation about this.
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Comments are being aired on who should be appointed as new chair of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), with various commentators stressing the urgent criteria needed for this constitutional position of credibility and independent-mindedness. Election lawyers, such as the President?s lawyer Romulo Macalintal, and Sixto Brilliantes, who handled Fernando Poe Jr. and other opposition candidates, earlier batted for fellow election lawyer Leila de Lima, who handled cases for opposition candidates in the last elections. Others are pushing former Sen. Joey Lina, who now heads the Manila Hotel. Another name bruited about is that of University of the East College of Law Dean Amado D. Valdez. These three personalities have solid reputations for independent-mindedness and can be expected to clean up the Comelec.
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House Speaker Jose de Venecia tendered a luncheon Monday for the Spanish parliamentary delegation from the Committee on Foreign Affairs for Asia and the Philippines, and it was a most meaningful gathering for him personally and for the country as well, now that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is scheduled to make a state visit to Madrid early this December.
The head of the delegation, Juan Moscoso, revealed that the Spanish Parliament recently passed a law authorizing the conversion into equity of debts incurred from Spain by Third World countries. It is the first parliament in Europe to allow such conversion, he said, and it?s up to the Spanish government to find projects to which this law can apply. Hopefully other governments in Europe and Asia will follow Spain?s example and not just relieve Third World countries of debt burden, but use the repayments for development in those countries.
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Speaker De Venecia recalled that four years ago he had discussed this idea of a debt-for-equity swap with Spain?s King Juan Carlos during a call on the monarch, and subsequently with members of the Spanish Parliament, and now it has become a reality. He said the king especially liked the idea of financing the reconstruction of Intramuros.
The visiting parliamentarians noted that a number of similar old Hispanic cities in its former colonies had been reconstructed by Spain. De Venecia then suggested to them and to Eugenio Gonzalez, president of Fundacion Intramuros, that the negotiations on the project to reconstruct the Walled City be finished in the next two months. The agreement could then be signed when President Arroyo visits Madrid.
I learned from the visiting parliamentarians that Spain has about $50 billion worth of development projects in Latin America alone, but its exposure in Asia remains minuscule by comparison. I queried Ambassador Luis Arias on this, and he replied that Spain has about 15 projects going on in the Philippines, of which six are in Mindanao. These involve delivery of basic services such as clean potable water. It would be a nice gesture if Spain approved the Intramuros project.
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Cecile Alvarez and I learned that Gov. Joey Salceda of Albay province was in Manila last weekend to tie up loose ends on the first-ever National Conference on Climate Change Adaptation he?s organizing in Legaspi from Oct. 22 to 24. We grabbed the chance to interview him as we hadn?t done one with a local official in a while.
Let me write about Salceda?s views concerning media speculations about President Arroyo?s fate. Salceda, who had served as the President?s financial adviser and continues to be in touch with her, pooh-poohed any such talk outside of the impeachment process as highly unlikely.
For one thing, he says, there?s the economy which is doing so well, unlike during the last years of Ferdinand Marcos when GDP growth fell from 5 percent to negative 12 percent. Under President Arroyo, says, Salceda, there have been 26 quarters of uninterrupted and accelerating economic growth, which corresponds to very favorable global conditions ?that would carry everything upward in their path, even the garbage.?
?Bumebwelo na ang ekonomiya? [?The economy is preparing for take-off?], he stressed, so that the 7.5-percent GDP growth in the first quarter of this year needs only P55 billion in infrastructure investments to sustain it. He noted several impressive big-ticket foreign investments this year, and we need only about three or four more such items to carry the economy to 8 percent growth. By 2009, he says, local businessmen, who know the market and follow the big foreign investments, will come in and push it to 9 percent growth.
(Next, Salceda talks on the demand for Filipinos overseas and the educational fluke and cultural traits that sustain it).
