FILIPINOS hungry for heroes in the flesh ignored the unceasing rains and trooped to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport yesterday morning wanting to get a glimpse, if not actually touch, boxing icon Manny Pacquiao.
Pacquiao arrived at 4:30 a.m. aboard a Philippine Airlines flight PR103 from Los Angeles, wearing blue sweatshirt and gray pants and carrying a leather clutch bag. Some kibitzers joked the bag must be full of American dollars from his recent victory over Mexican fighter Hector Velazquez.
Manila International Airport Authority General Manager Alfonso Cusi led the welcomers, along with Manila Mayor Lito Atienza and 3rd District Congressman Miles Roces.
The moment he exited the airport door, Pacquiao was mobbed by the crowd, some wanting to pose with him for a souvenir photograph, while others simply touched him.
“Ang aking panalo ay alay ko sa sambayanang Pilipino. Ito din ay simbolo ng pagkakaisa kaya sana ay magkaisa na tayong lahat para sa ating bansa,” Pacquiao said.
Pacquiao won the World Boxing Council International super featherweight belt after stopping Velazquez in the sixth round of a scheduled 12-round fight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles last Sunday.
His next fight will be a rematch against another Mexican, Eric Morales, who defeated him via a unanimous decision last March in Las Vegas.
Atienza, meanwhile, led people of Manila in giving the boxing icon a warm and rousing welcome that not even continuous rains could dampen.
Although the motorcade prepared by Manila for its adopted son had to be cut short in some parts of the city, crowds lining the route where the motorace passed cheered Pacquiao lustily. Pacquiao then motored to City Hall with Atienza, a long-time friend and patron.
Reacting to the wild and cheering throng along the route, Atienza said: “If we will have less politics and more unity, this will restore the Filipinos’ place on top of the sports world and bolster its economic standing in a competitive, globalized world.
“We can achieve this with less politics and more national unity,” said Atienza, who met Pacquiao and his wife Jinkee at the airport and then hosted a press conference for the boxer at City Hall.
To the cheers of Pacquiao’s fans and City Hall employees, Pacquiao presented Atienza with an autographed boxing shorts.
Assisting Atienza in giving Pacquiao a “champion’s welcome” were Manila Sports Council chairman Ali Atienza, Buhayin ang Maynila Task Force chief Kim Atienza and Roces.
