The visitors from the Philippines started arriving in Las Vegas days before the scheduled re-match of our own Manny Pacquiao and Mexico’s Erik Morales.
They were senators, House members, governors, mayors, business people and Pacquiao fans. Their presence, they said, was to cheer Pacquiao on as he tries to even the score with Morales. Pacquiao lost to Morales in a gut-wrenching fight on March 20 last year. The fight today gives Pacquiao the chance to rewrite history and to show the world he wasn’t about to give up.
What became of equal importance to the preparations for the fight were reports on Filipinos arriving in Las Vegas to witness the event. Sen. Lito Lapid and Cavite Gov. Ayong Malicsi were reportedly among the early birds. Other politicians were to follow soon.
The list of those attending the fight is no longer the “non-issue” that First Gentleman Mike Arroyo had wished it to be in the events after the boxing match last year. It was last year when Arroyo’s US$20,000 per night suite in Las Vegas came to the public’s knowledge. It was too controversial that even after the public stopped talking about Pacquiao’s defeat, talks of Arroyo’s expensive accommodation persisted.
Coming right after government’s calls for belt-tightening and austerity, Arroyo’s suite accommodation was seen as a slap to the Filipino’s face. But to Arroyo it was a “non-issue” because no public funds were used for his trip and his hotel stay. “It was free. What’s the fuss all about?” he said. He had explained that what he enjoyed was “accommodation fitting a dignitary of my stature as husband of the President.”
Not everybody was convinced. Even if no government funds were used, delicadeza or sympathy over the hardships faced by majority of the Filipinos should have stopped him from spending his money that way.
There were sectors in Congress who wanted an investigation to look into loopholes in laws on ethics that allowed families of government officials to think they were above restrictions. Nothing came out of such calls because, soon after the controversy, there were accusations thrown at the President’s husband over gambling money and election cheating.
What the incident taught the public was to keep a close watch of the people attending today’s re-match and to question whose money they would be spending.
***
Post your comments or good wishes to Pacquiao in the Sun.Star website’s blog on the rematch. Go to the www.sunstar.com.ph website and click on the button at the top part showing Pacquiao and Morales. A “comments” link after every news item allows you to post messages.
