MANNY PACQUIAO further fuelled speculations that he is running for a post this coming election when he applied for 20 gun ban exemptions from the Commission on Elections last week.
Pacquiao cited as reason that he is a high-risk figure and that some of the exemptions will be for the bodyguards of his wife, Jinkee, and three children and for his mother, Dionisia.
But a source said that the gun ban applications could be a prelude to his announcement that he will run for mayor of General Santos City.
Before this, it was rumored that he might be the running mate of Ali Atienza in Manila.
“If not in this year’s elections, it would certainly be in the next elections,” said the source from GenSan.
“Nag-usap na rin kasi sina Manny at si Mayor (Pedro Acharon) na huwag na siyang tumakbo dahil last term na ni mayor kung manalo,” the source added.
Rogelio Pacquiao, the boxer’s brother, said he doesn’t have an idea whether Pacquiao is indeed seeking an elective post this May or three years from now.
“I don’t know yet,” Rogelio said when asked about his brother’s plans to enter politics.
But another insider said Pacquiao is determined to toss his hat into the political ring in GenSan.
“Ayaw na daw pa-awat,” said somebody privy to Pacquiao’s decision to run.
In the event, Pacquiao dips his toes on political waters in the coming elections, he will be in for a tough fight.
For one, the Acharon clan has long been dominating the political scene in the city. It has also the support of the old rich, including the Antoninos.
Meanwhile, Top Rank head Bob Arum and Pacquiao associate Wakee Salud are scheduled to meet in Macau in the first week of February to discuss the mechanics and other details of the April 28 bout between Pacquiao and Korean Injin Chi at the Wynn Casino and Hotel.
“I got a call from Mr. Arum and we are scheduled to meet there (in Macau) in two weeks time,” Salud told the Bulletin after arriving from Macau yesterday afternoon where he spent a few days with a Japanese businessman-friend.
“The Wynn Hotel in Macau is a copycat of the one in Las Vegas,” said Salud. “Even the restaurants, shops and even the deisgn of the rooms are almost the same.”
