MANILA, Philippines—Manny Pacquiao is flying home on Monday to another red carpet welcome at Malaca?ang amid predictions that his next fight—this time, in the political arena—could leave him more bruised than his previous bouts that made him the darling of the boxing world.
At least two kinds of people are waiting for the Filipino superhero’s return: His horde of fans some of whom will probably again scream to him for a balato (tip), and a welter of politicians hopeful that his fame would somehow rub off on them and bring them votes in the May elections.
“We are expecting the usual crowd turnout on the streets,” Chief Supt. Rodolfo Magtibay, director of the Manila Police District (MPD), told the Philippine Daily Inquirer on the eve of Pacquiao’s arrival.
“It wouldn’t matter if his last fight was not as exciting to people as his previous bouts. He is still Manny Pacquiao and people will come out to see him. We are prepared for that,” he said.
Magtibay was referring to Pacquiao’s lopsided March 13 fight in Texas with the Ghanaian Joshua Clottey, whom he pummeled for 12 rounds to retain his World Boxing Organization welterweight crown.
Clottey’s refusal to mix it up with Pacquiao left many boxing fans disappointed.
Police security
Airport officials said that Pacquiao’s tentative schedule showed he would arrive on a Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight at around 5:30 a.m.
Magtibay has deployed a sufficient number of policemen to secure Pacquiao when he hears Mass at Quiapo Church Monday morning and along the route of his citywide motorcade.
Policemen will specially be deployed on major thoroughfares where both vehicular and pedestrian congestions are anticipated, he said.
Before hearing Mass, Pacquiao is expected to pay a visit to Manila mayoral candidate Lito Atienza at his home in San Andres, Manila. A courtesy call on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will follow after the Mass.
Early plans call for Nacionalista Party standard-bearer Sen. Manuel Villar to go to the airport to welcome the boxer but there was nothing final about this as of Sunday night, the Villar camp said.
There is no plan for Villar to join Pacquiao’s motorcade, the NP camp said.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has called on politicians to avoid injecting politics into Pacquiao’s homecoming.
Motorcade route
The motorcade will start at Mendiola Bridge, passing through Manila’s streets and markets, including Legarda, Bustillos, Sampaloc Market, S.H. Loyola, Trabaho Market, Plaza Noli, Matimyas, Blumentritt, Dapitan, A.H. Lacson, Yuseco, Raxabago, Juan Luna, Pritil, Moriones, R 10, Zaragoza, Del Pan, Anda Circle, Cabildo, Victoria, Gen. Luna, Maria Orosa, T.M. Kalaw, Taft Avenue, Pedro Gil, Paco Market and Sta. Ana Market.
Ms Arroyo will again roll out the red carpet for Pacquiao, according to Palace officials.
“This has become routine for Malaca?ang,” Press Secretary Crispulo Icban said by phone.
Icban said it did not matter that Pacquiao had left the administration side and joined Villar’s camp in the boxer’s second attempt to win a seat in Congress.
After losing to South Cotabato Rep. Darlene Antonino-Custodio in 2007, Pacquiao is now running in Sarangani province.
Icban said Ms Arroyo would receive Pacquiao in the reception hall of the Palace. He said it was not clear whether he would again be feted with a special cake decorated with replicas of boxing gloves or similar memorabilia.
Harder battle ahead
For his knockout of Puerto Rican champion Miguel Angel Cotto in November last year, Pacquiao received a huge rectangular cake with a replica of his WBO welterweight belt.
Political analysts warn that adulation and big spending may not convert to votes when Pacquiao runs for Congress, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“It will be a harder battle than all the battles he has waged in the ring,” said political science professor Ronald Holmes of De La Salle University.
“They (the public) might be passionate about him in boxing but this does not necessarily translate into political support.”
Pacquiao’s opponent for the Sarangani seat, Roy Chiongbian, comes from an influential family that has dominated business and politics in the area for years.
Members and allies of the Chiongbian clan have long occupied many of the top positions in the sparsely populated, rural and deeply impoverished province.
“It’s not easy to discount the network they have established, the support they have nurtured through the years,” Holmes said.
One key feature of the country’s chaotic brand of democracy is the ability of clans to hold on to power, with the same surnames being seen in political posts for generations. With reports from Jerome Aning and Agence France-Presse
