THE PALACE is opening its door and rolling out the red carpet to give a hero’s welcome to a fallen warrior.
Bloodied and fighting with only one eye, boxing idol Manny Pacquiao showed the world the Filipinos’ never-say-die spirit despite losing to Mexican Erik Morales in Las Vegas, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said yesterday.
“Our admiration for Manny is undiminished. He showed the fighting spirit of the Filipino people,” Bunye said at a press briefing.
“A weak-hearted boxer fighting with one eye would have given up easily, but not Manny, who fought to the end. He showed the true heart of a warrior.”
Asked if Malaca?ang planned a hero’s welcome for Pacquiao, Bunye said: “Definitely, definitely.”
He said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo considered the boxer an authentic Filipino sports hero.
“The Palace will always be open to Pacquiao and we’re prepared to [receive] him at his convenience. These details will be arranged,” Bunye said, adding that a warm welcome for the pugilist was only fitting.
“You can’t win all the time. All great boxers, with the exception of Rocky Marciano, tasted defeat at one time or another,” said Bunye, citing heavyweight boxing legends Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis as among those who rose from defeat to reclaim their glory.
“We believe that Manny will bounce back from this defeat and he will go on to greater heights,” Bunye said.
Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano has not received word on when Pacquiao will come home but said his office was coordinating with the boxer’s manager and other government agencies “to prepare a hero’s welcome for him.”
The Ninoy Aquino International Airport will be decorated for Pacquiao’s arrival, with Durano leading government officials in greeting the fighter.
Durano said he would escort Pacquiao to Malaca?ang for the meeting with Ms Arroyo.
The tourism department is also working with the local government and with civic groups in General Santos City to “make his hometown return something he will never forget,” Durano said.
The defeat to Morales may have cast a pall of gloom on the country but it also drew the attention of lawmakers to the plight of the country’s professional boxers.
Caring for the boxers
Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago filed a bill requiring the Games and Amusement Board to compel promoters to provide boxers with insurance coverage for any injuries sustained during matches.
“While most boxing organizations may have already incorporated all these health and safety requisites in their own charters, it is important that our government take primary responsibility in ensuring the safety of our boxers by enacting a law that will solely serve their interests,” Santiago said in a statement.
“Many of our countrymen have made the nation proud by becoming world champions. It is high time we look after their welfare.”
Blood sport
Santiago, whose husband Narciso was a boxer in college, said she watched Saturday’s fight on television and was impressed by Pacquiao’s gallantry.
In Senate Bill No. 1501, Santiago said boxing, being a blood sport, should be subject to government regulation and safety standards.
Under Santiago’s proposal, a professional boxing match would be staged only if a licensed practicing physician, whose services were paid for by the promoter, was present at ringside.
The promoter should also make sure an ambulance is on standby, she added.
Lure of money
The bill would also mandate promoters to subject boxers to a physical examination by a licensed practicing physician before a fight.
“I know there are boxers, especially those who are just starting out in their careers, who will participate in a match even if they’re not in tip-top shape because they are thinking of the money to feed their families,” Santiago said.
“This is very dangerous. A boxer endangers his health if he is not in perfect physical condition.”
Any manager, promoter, matchmaker or licensee who violates the proposed law’s provisions faces one-year imprisonment or a fine of up to P100,000, or both, she said.
No more Navarretes
Santiago also asked Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas to study the feasibility of a national pension system for professional boxers.
“We don’t want the future Manny Pacquiaos of this country to end up, when they retire, like Rolando Navarrete, who is now living in poverty,” she said.
Santiago was referring to the former World Boxing Council junior lightweight champion, who is now a fish vendor.
With reports from TJ Burgonio and Jerome Aning
