FILIPINO boxing champion Manny Pacquiao earned the ire of Philippine Airlines staff yesterday after he held up a PAL flight to Hong Kong and did not appear to be the least bit apologetic about it.
He was also a no-show for the preliminary investigation yesterday of a case brought against him by a former lover seeking support for a 2-year-old boy he had reportedly fathered. Instead, he sent a lawyer to work out a settlement.
An airport source told the Inquirer that Pacquiao, his wife Jinkee and two sons arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Centennial Terminal four minutes before their flight’s scheduled departure at 8:10 a.m., delaying it by another four minutes. “Despite the time, Pacquiao simply sauntered into the airport with his family in tow. He wasn’t in a hurry at all, considering that he was already very late,” said the source, who requested anonymity because the airline had yet to make an official report on the incident.
“Inis na inis yung mga taga-PAL at immigration (PAL and immigration staff were very annoyed),” said the source.
Champ didn’t smile
An eyewitness said Pacquiao, who was wearing a striped long-sleeved shirt and denims, looked “serious” and did not smile at the people around him.
Immigration officers had to “fast-track some immigration procedures” to accommodate Pacquiao and his family in the business class section of a fully booked PAL flight PR 300.
“This incident got a lot of people thinking if all the fame and adulation heaped on Pacquiao had already gotten to his head,” the source said.
Aide fell on his butt
The incident was aggravated by the behavior of a certain Bernard Cloma, a member of Pacquiao’s entourage of some 20 people who introduced himself as a “producer,” the source said.
Cloma reportedly argued with the PAL customer service agent who informed him that check-in counters for the flight had to close at 7:45 a.m. according to airline regulations.
The agent also suggested that Pacquiao and his family take the 10 a.m. flight to Hong Kong instead.
“(Cloma) said it was not possible. He even dropped the name of (PAL owner) Lucio Tan, saying that he (Cloma) was the one who invited one of Tan’s children to be a judge in a prestigious beauty contest,” the source said.
Pacquiao, his wife and sons, Cloma and three other people in his entourage were the last eight persons to board PR 300.
The source said the group was in such a hurry to get on the flight that Cloma slipped and fell on his behind at the boarding gate, to the amusement of the people watching.
Pacquiao knocked out Mexico’s Erik Morales in January in a scintillating win that earned him the adulation of the entire nation and a record multimillion-peso deal as an endorser of San Miguel Corp. products.
Lover takes swing
He was immediately hit by a scandal.
Joanne Rose Bacosa, who claimed she had an affair with Pacquiao for two years, appeared at yesterday’s hearing at the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office, demanding support for her child who she insisted was the boxing champion’s son.
The 24-year-old Bacosa is seeking a dollar trust fund for the boy equivalent to P25 million, a P2.5-million house, a P75,000 monthly allowance with retroactive effect, and education and medical expenses, said a lawyer, who requested anonymity because of his involvement in the litigation.
Bacosa also demanded use of Pacquiao’s name for the child, to ensure his legitimacy and future rights, and P1 million in litigation costs.
“We are open to a possible settlement when the time comes,” Pacquiao’s lawyer, Jose Crisostomo, told reporters after the 45-minute private hearing.
Bacosa smiled to reporters when she came out but did not talk to them.
