Without yellow gloves on his hands, blue boxing shoes on his feet and a rosary around his neck, Manny Pacquiao is mortal. There’s a tapered two-button suit on Pacquiao’s body instead of sweat. He is, to the shock of the boxing world, an easy target. No otherworldly speed. No footwork. No six-punch combinations. Just words. An audience listens to concepts strung together. The image is strange. And, if as a pugilist, Pacquiao is beyond reproach, as a least likely opinion-maker, he is, again, under scrutiny.
People say, “Ambisyoso.” It’s a castigation, not a compliment. Yet a boxer can’t win belts in eight divisions if he wasn’t. A fighter can’t rise out of poverty and become the global face of a sport if he didn’t have the nerve to believe. What makes Pacquiao so feared in the ring, however, is what makes Pacquiao so questioned away from his battlegrounds. He’s so good at throwing straights, hooks, finding angles, scaring opponents. The best in the business. Someone’s conclusion: he can’t be that good at something else. To conquer with both fists and wits. Really?
Pacquiao reads from carefully prepared notes. He states. He asks. The best way he knows how. For everyone to hear. The easiest thing to do, afterwards, is to belittle him. What compelling argument can a boxing champion forward? Consider, however, that the easiest thing for Pacquiao to do is to keep quiet. Huwag nang maki-sawsaw. What he does is neither convenient nor compulsory. Not for him. Not for us.
While it’s probably foolish for Pacquiao to use his celebrity status to shape opinion, it also seems unfair to stop him from sharing his views. I don’t defend his views… on the RH Bill, on how to spend his money, on how to manage the circus which surrounds him. Still, I don’t have to agree with him in order to listen to what he has to say. I watch him struggle with complicated terms. I witness a risky attempt to sound statesmanly. A man removed from his forte. But who am I to stop him from staging his own catastrophe?
Maybe as a sports columnist, I give Pacquiao too much leeway. Yet I defend his right to share his views. I further defend his inclination to air his views. If it is either a publicity stunt or grossly miscalculated political move, let him suffer in the form of lost votes and lost admirers. He, however, refuses to hide behind the shield of perceived ignorance. While experienced politicians would rather play safe, especially when asked about divisive issues, a boxing star risks his hard-earned reputation by speaking up.
If Pacquiao believes he’s bigger than what he actually is, thinks he can contribute to a debate beyond his intellectual realm, the burden of failure is his alone. People aren’t required to agree with his opinion. But they can, at least, listen. For the right to disagree is just as sacred as the right to be heard. – GMA News
