CEBU CITY, Philippines?Attendance in Sunday Masses in this city?s churches fell when the match between Manny Pacquiao and Mexican Antonio Margarito was aired on TV and big screens.
Sto. Rosario church, located at one of the biggest parishes in Cebu City, suffered a 50 percent drop in attendance in the 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Masses.
Santo Rosario is always full during Sunday Masses with churchgoers standing even outside the church. But on Sunday, there were many vacant seats during the fight, parish secretary Neneth Canonigo said.
At the pay-per-view screening inside the Sto. Rosario parish convent, nine priests, led by parish priest and Auxiliary Bishop Julito Cortes, and some 20 staff roared whenever Pacquiao hit Margarito.
Canonigo said Bishop Cortes and the priests were satisfied with the outcome of the fight.
There were also few churchgoers in Negros Occidental during the fight hours. At the San Antonio Abad Parish church in Bacolod City, worshippers were scarce at the 10:30 a.m. Mass on Sunday, said Fr. Aniceto Buenafe.
Main streets in the cities of Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod and Maasin were mostly empty.
In this city, traffic dropped by 50 percent with only one minor accident at 12 noon, according to traffic operator Ritchie Fajardo.
The few taxicabs and pedicabs that remained on the streets of Iloilo City had loud-playing radios broadcasting the boxing match.
At the start of the fight, only one ?potpot? (pedal tricycle) was seen on the busy street in the city proper of Maasin in Southern Leyte.
Ilonggos had hoped for a knockout by Pacquiao but was still happy the Filipino boxing icon won his record eighth title in as many weight divisions.
?It was a one-sided match from the start and I was expecting a knockout. But it’s okay if it didn’t end that way. Manny still won,? said Ernesto Calixton, a retiree who was among the 600 fans who watched the match at the Hotel del Rio in Iloilo City.
Young and elderly fans packed restaurants, bars and hotels in Iloilo, Cebu and Bacolod, which charged guests from P280 to P500 for the live telecast of the match shown on giant screens.
Fans on the island-resort of Boracay also watched the match in hotels and restaurants. Giant screens were also put up for free viewing by residents at the ABL Sports Complex in the capital town of Kalibo in Aklan and other towns in the province.
In Maasin City, fight fans inside one of the restaurants offering live screening of the fight got a scare when Margarito pounded the Pacman in one round. But they recovered pronto after their idol retaliated with a string of straights to the head and body, leaving the Mexican wobbling.
?Margarito is very tough. Despite his toughness, he still found himself beaten to a pulp,? said a fan who paid P100 in an SRO showing at the Dakong Bato resort and restaurant.? Reports by Jhunnex Napallacan, Nestor Burgos Jr., Jani Arnaiz and Carla Gomez
