HE DODGED questions about a love child with the same quickness and finesse he does punches thrown at him inside the ring.
“Let’s just stick to boxing,” said world boxing icon Manny Pacquiao during a press conference yesterday announcing his multimillion-peso record-breaking endorsement deal with food and beverage giant San Miguel Corp.
The arrangement with the “People’s Champ” would make Pacquiao the biggest endorser of SMC products, surpassing the late actor Fernando Poe Jr., the record holder.
Representatives of the company declined to reveal the value of the endorsement deal, saying some aspects of the deal have yet to be ironed out.
They admitted, however, that the transaction is “substantial” as it is a “one-of-a-kind deal” and “the biggest for any endorser hired by San Miguel.”
Pacquiao’s media appearance coincided with an Inquirer exclusive report about the claim of a former girlfriend that Pacquiao is the father of her son, now two years old.
Joanna Rose Bacosa, 24, yesterday officially filed a suit against Pacquiao for violation of Republic Act No. 9262, which seeks to protect women from violence. She also asked for support for the boy.
But the 27-year-old Pacquiao wanted nothing to do with questions concerning his extra-marital affair, or about the boy — allegedly a result of stolen moments he had with Bacosa in a relationship that began in 2003 at a hotel billiard hall.
The former bakery hand who rose to the boxing pinnacle with his spectacular win over Erik Morales of Mexico last month said he only wanted to talk about his boxing and business affairs.
Reward for excellence
“This agreement is in recognition of an excellent athlete who deserves recognition and reward for making our country proud and putting back the Philippines in the world map,” said SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang.
Under the agreement, signed at the SMC headquarters in Pasig City, the boxing sensation will represent San Miguel as a corporation and endorse its beer products, hard liquors and food products.
Pacquiao will tour the country and the Asia-Pacific in the deal which also earned him a title of a “business franchisee.” He earlier endorsed SMC brands like Purefoods and Ginebra San Miguel.
SMC also announced that it would sponsor Pacquiao’s personal business ventures, including concerts, movies and other promotional activities as a singer, actor and performer. This is on top of providing marketing and distribution assistance to Pacquiao’s “MP” product line.
SMC also vowed to support Pacquiao’s next international boxing matches, aside from providing him life insurance and producing boxing clinic videos.
Over P100-M deal
“Over the long run, this will exceed the P100 million that FPJ earned from his endorsements,” said one official, who requested anonymity.
He said the transaction was a “lifetime partnership” for Pacquiao who would receive regular and royalty payments from the food conglomerate.
Later in the afternoon, Pacquiao attended ceremonies making him the adopted son of Para?aque City at the office of Mayor Florencio Bernabe.
A brass band welcomed him. He was gifted with a black dog while a restive crowd waited for his autograph.
Bernabe said the 4-month-old Labrador named Champ would bring Pacquiao good fortune.
“Since this is the Year of the Dog, we gave him a dog so that he would be more lucky,” said Bernabe.
“Ako’y nagpapasalamat sa dog na binigay ni mayor sa akin … kasing bait ni mayor, hindi nangangagat (I thank the mayor for the dog. He is as good as the mayor, he doesn’t bite,” Pacquiao said, which elicited laughter from the crowd.
He also refused to entertain questions about Bacosa.
But Pacquiao’s lawyer, Jose “Boy” Crisostomo, said that the boxer had no intention of running away from any obligation if Pacquiao was really answerable to Bacosa’s claims for support.
“If he is really the father of the child, then he is going to honor his obligations under the law,” Crisostomo told the Inquirer in a phone interview.
He also pleaded to the media to respect Pacquiao’s “right to privacy.”
Protection sought
Crisostomo acknowledged Bacosa’s move to file a case against Pacquiao but stressed that a settlement would only come when the boy’s paternity was confirmed.
In a six-page complaint-affidavit, Bacosa, a former billiard hall spotter and waitress, said she was afraid of what Pacquiao might do to her, considering his wealth and influence as a beloved sports figure.
Her lawyer, Victor Rodriguez, said his client would later also seek a court protection order against Pacquiao along with support for the boy.
Bacosa is prepared to prove the child’s paternity through a DNA test, but only on the condition that both her son and Pacquiao take it at the same time in the same hospital, Rodriguez said.
An out-of-court settlement was also possible, Rodriguez said, adding that they sought legal remedy to show that they were not just after the money.
He said Bacosa was not seeking financial support for herself but only for her son. “If we win the case, the money won’t go to the mother or to the lawyer, but to her son,” Rodriguez said.
A trust fund could be opened for the boy — to be accessible to him only when he turns 21 or completes a four-year course, he added. But there should still be financial support while the boy is growing up, he said.
Jinkee offers P100,000
“I pity my son because despite Pacquiao’s wealthy and luxurious lifestyle, he is depriving his son of adequate support,” Bacosa said.
She said Pacquiao had given her money a few times, including P300,000 before she gave birth to the boy in January 2004, and smaller amounts in the succeeding months.
But after last November, Pacquiao stopped seeing her and sending money, despite her repeated calls, Bacosa said.
At a press conference in Quezon City, also yesterday, Bacosa said Pacquiao’s wife Jinkee contacted her shortly after Pacquiao’s celebrated conquest of Morales, and offered her P100,000 to “remain silent and go away.” With reports from Jocelyn R. Uy and DJ Yap
