THAT was very, very irresponsible of Manny Pacquiao, the way he violated quarantine procedures at the airport last Monday that were instituted by the government to prevent the entry and spread here of the swine flu (A-H1N1) virus now threatening the whole world. The virus is now spreading in Los Angeles where Manny and his Team Pacquiao came from. The World Health Organization (WHO), our health department and Malaca?ang itself had advised Pacquiao to postpone his homecoming and to limit visitors in LA for five days, the time it takes an infected person to show symptoms of the disease. If they showed no symptoms after five days, that means they were disease-free.
But Pacquiao rejected the pleas and came home as originally scheduled.
The government still kept trying to prevent the possible spread of the disease here. It asked Pacquiao to keep his distance from welcomers and go straight home and be on self-quarantine for five days. He defied that, too. He freely mingled with the crowd at the airport, shaking hands, hugging, making ?beso-beso? (social kissing), etc., shocking responsible people, especially doctors, who watched the whole spectacle on television. Not content with that, he and his Team Pacquiao proceeded to Quiapo Church, then to a Makati hotel, where he freely mingled with more crowds, then made it worse by holding a concert at the Mall of Asia in Pasay City where he sang his favorite songs before still another crowd.
If Pacquiao or any of the score or so members of Team Pacquiao were harboring the disease, doctors said, they could have spread the virus to those crowds and, from there, possibly to the whole Philippines. In short, Pacquiao and his supporters didn?t care for the Filipinos who idolize him. He put them all at risk by his irresponsible behavior. He was carried away by the adulation of his countrymen who have, and always will be, suckers for celebrities. Now we can only hope and pray that none in Pacquiao?s group is a carrier of the virus. But if even one of them turns out to be a carrier, then we would have a hell of a time trying to locate all those who came in close contact with them.
Surely, when he goes home to General Santos City and Sarangani province, he would be met by similar crowds and Pacquiao, basking in his glory, would put his town mates at risk by mingling with them and possibly spreading the virus. This is the same Pacquiao who would be asking for their votes next year and telling them that he, the ?People?s Champ,? loves and cares for them. But his actions belie that. Does he care for them when he puts them in danger of contracting the deadly disease? All he had to do was stay home and, after five days without any symptoms of the swine flu, he could have then done anything he wanted.
But no, he wanted to show that he is a special person, that the rules of the health department, and of the whole Philippine government, do not apply to him. They are for ordinary mortals but not for a god like him.
Pacquiao justified his defiance that he, his family and the members of his group went through the thermal scanners and had no fever and other symptoms of the disease. This reveals the lack of understanding by this man who wants to be a congressman.
As already stated, it takes five days for symptoms, including fever that the thermal scanners can detect, to appear. So, even if a person has no fever (and runny nose, coughing or sneezing, muscle pain, malaise, diarrhea and vomiting), he may still be a carrier of the virus and should take precautions not to spread it.
To be fair, it is not all the fault of Pacquiao who got carried away by his fame (and fortune). It is also the fault of the equally irresponsible people who defied the rules and went close to the Pacquiao group to welcome and be photographed with them. Also to blame are the health and airport personnel who did not do more to prevent close contact between the welcomers and the Pacquiao group. If the government can prevent militant crowds ready for violence from going near the US Embassy or Mendiola, why was it unable to prevent the crowds at the airport, Quiapo Church, Makati hotel and Mall of Asia from getting close to Pacquiao?s group?
And lastly, Malaca?ang cannot escape blame. It is surprising that until now, the Palace whose requests to Pacquiao were defied, has remained silent on the fiasco. It has not chastised its own Cabinet members who encouraged Pacquiao to defy its requests. In fact, there is not a peep out of it.
Even Malaca?ang is afraid of Manny Pacquiao?
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That Vice President Noli de Castro will be the presidential candidate of a new party can only mean that he does not want to be identified with the Arroyo administration. This administration is so unpopular that it is generally accepted by politicians that to be endorsed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, or to be the standard-bearer of her Lakas-Kampi party, would be the ?kiss of death? for any candidate. In fact, of all the dozen or so presidential wannabes, only Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and Metro Manila Development Authority Chair Bayani Fernando have admitted that they want to be the administration?s presidential candidate, and this can only be because no other party would take them anyway.
That Manuel V. Pangilinan, head of the PLDT conglomerate, is reported to be bankrolling the new party, may mean that he wants to be Noli?s running mate and, after six years, the party?s standard-bearer. Despite MVP?s denials, rumors persist that he is running for President. If it is true that he would back Noli, it means that he has set his sights lower and is willing to wait to get his place in the sun.
