Sen. Manny Pacquiao celebrated his 42nd birthday yesterday around the same people he grew up with.
Instead of hosting a party, a practice the boxing legend has done for many years, Pacquiao went around General Santos City with bags of treats to distribute to the needy and destitute.
“The Senator has a heart of gold,” said Jayke Joson, a close aide of the reigning World Boxing Association welterweight king.
Pacquiao’s gift-giving ways transcends his birthday and victory parties.
At any given day, whenever Pacquiao is around, people gather in front of his mansion, many of them begging for food and oftentimes money that will be used to buy medicine.
Countless times, people line up asking for financial assistance to cover hospital and funeral expenses.
“Senator Manny hardly says no whenever people come asking for his help because he knows how they feel. He feels for them because he used to be one of them,” Joson added.
Pacquiao is looking forward to an exciting 2021 with two high-profile fights being eyed to take place.
Last week, Pacquiao told Daily Tribune that the earliest he can return to the ring would be April.
There are few marketable foes out there, including mixed martial arts icon Conor McGregor, who is fighting in January.
If victorious, McGregor is expected to make some noise and lure the eight-division champion into a lucrative bout that could end up being staged in one of these countries: United Arab Emirates, Qatar or Saudi Arabia.
In the meantime, Pacquiao’s mind remains focused on helping the poor.
