Sarangani Rep. Emmanuel “Manny” Dapidran Pacquiao, the pound-for-pound best boxer and the sixth highest-paid athlete in the world, is extremely successful at making money that his name? MANNY? may eventually become synonymous to the word ?money.”
It is not uncommon for slang words to evolve from the names of famous celebrities, such as ?Baldwin,” to refer to a handsome person because the Baldwin brothers in Hollywood? are well-known for their good looks.
It is thus not improbable for the name ?Manny” to become a slang word for ?money” as Rep. Manny Pacquiao has become one of the sports world?s top moneymakers.
Rep. Manny? Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao? born to a poor family on December 17, 1978, has risen to global fame as the first boxer in history to win nine world titles in seven different weight divisions. He is the sixth highest paid athlete in the world, earning around $42 million in 2009. In May 2010, he was also elected as congressman of Saranggani province.
Our GMA News reporter, Cesar Apolinario, has written a personal essay about Manny Pacquiao and how his fame affects the lives of ordinary Filipinos.
Pacman the hero, or villain?
My seven-year-old son Remus seems to be a bigger fan of Manny Pacquiao than I am.
Once, probably after seeing Manny?s gin advertisement, Remus asked me, ?Dad, can someone who drinks alcohol be like Manny Pacquiao?
I told him, ?Son, Manny Pacquiao is just like any other person in the world. He?s got talent and that talent brought him to fame.”
He answered, ?Like Venom!” Venom is a character in the Spiderman movie. Unlike other villains, Venom?s evil intentions are hard to distinguish. He may appear harmless at first before his evil intentions become known.
I wondered why Remus compared Manny to Venom. Perhaps it?s because he looks up to Manny but wonders why he?s promoting alcoholic drinks.
In other countries, politicians, boxers, and other athletes are well respected-people who are careful about the images they project. Michael Jordan, for instance, only endorses products that are generally perceived as good.
Remus knows that Manny is no super hero. As a kid, he knows that his hero does not possess superpowers to fight galactic crimes.
Remus is aware that his idol?s fists could not match Batman?s, or Superman?s, or even Wapacman?s.
Still, Remus looks up to Manny as the best fighter in the world, having watched Pacman knock down seven superpower individuals, big names in boxing, in the last few years.
Manny?s achievements, both inside and outside the boxing ring, are indeed laudable and are worth 12 rounds of applause.
It is no wonder that Anak TV, Inc. picked Manny as their endorser. Anak TV Inc. (formerly Southeast Asian Foundation for Children and Television), is a Philippine advocacy for child-friendly and family-friendly television.
Still, the question remains?why is Manny not selective of the products he endorses?
Will Manny make a good Anak TV endorser when he promotes products that are not family-friendly?
It also seems ironic that not-so-child-friendly commercials are shown during the breaks of supposedly family-friendly and Anak TV-approved shows.
It won’t be surprising when Manny’s name becomes a slang for money.
?Show me the Manny!?
In the 1996 movie ?Jerry Maguire,” actors Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding Jr. were well-remembered for uttering the now famous line: ?Show me the money!”
An idiom, ?show me the money” has two meanings: either that a person wants to know how much he or she will be paid, or that a person wants to know if something is worth spending on.
As Filipino boxer and Saranggani Rep. Manny Pacquiao continues to gain fame in the international boxing area and rakes in millions of dollars, the phrase ?show me the money” could evolve into ?show me the Manny.”
Actually, in 2009, Manny starred in the comedy sitcom, ?Show me da Manny,” with Marian Rivera, Lovi Poe, Benjie Paras, and his mother Dionesia ?Pacmom” Pacquiao, among others.
Hot as ?pancit mami?
Manny, whom some people have started calling ?Money” Pacquiao, is as hot as ?mami” or ?goto” when it comes to endorsements. His face is everywhere?billboards, television, magazines, newspapers, and the internet.
Mami (hot noodle soup) and goto (hot porridge) are popular with the public or the masa. Just like mami or goto, Manny is hugely popular with the masa, too.
Mami and goto are simple, ordinary food. Just like mami or goto, Manny, whom some have already started calling ?Money Pacquiao,” had simple and ordinary roots. Before he became famous, he led a simple life back in his hometown, General Santos City.
Manny completed his elementary education in General Santos City but dropped out of high school due to extreme poverty.
At age 14, he left home because his mother, who had six children, was not making enough money to support them.
Manny moved to Manila and lived, for a time, on the streets. In 1995, at age 16, Manny began to pursue boxing and the rest is history?
People?s champ is everywhere
We see Manny, the ?People?s Champ,” wherever we go. In a huge billboard along EDSA, one of Manny?s ads for a pain reliever says, ?Aray ko, Galing ko.”
He also has huge ads for a popular brand of footwear and sportswear.
On TV, he has ads for a gin, a sports drink, a deodorant, and more. He also has print ads for a camera brand, among others.
For advertisers, ?Manny” translates to ?money.”
Advertisers have to shell out millions to get Manny to endorse their products. Still, they continue to go after him.
How much money does Manny make?
Tupac Shakur once said, ?Go make the money; don?t make the money make you.”
Does Tupac?s advise apply to him? ?Manny, go make the money; don?t make the money make you.”
Once, eating goto at a mami and goto canteen near our house, I overheard people talking about Manny and wondering how much money he makes.
