On Pacman's plan to retire and enter politics

If there is anything that Filipinos are proud of today, it is the superb performance by super boxer Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao who literally humbled Oscar de la Hoya. I’m sure that you’ve probably seen the live TV coverage of that fight at the MGM Hotel in Las Vegas or read the healthy debate on this fight before and after the bout. I’ve always thought within me that Manny would win because De la Hoya is already a “has-been.” So I’m not about to contribute my ten cents’ worth of opinion in what has already been said and done. But what I’d like to talk about is what I read that Pacman intends to hang his gloves in 2009 so he could focus on politics.

I hope that Manny Pacquiao was misinterpreted or misquoted on that because right now, there is only one Manny Pacquiao whom Filipinos can be proud of because he is a boxer par excellence. In my book, it would be a grave dishonor to Manny’s name and career if he quits the sport where he makes an honest living so he can join the world of dishonest politicians!

Hey, I’m not saying that Pacman will turn out to be a dishonest politician if he finally gets elected… but with the current system of governance that we have today, there is a good chance that he just might be caught in that vicious vortex of political corruption that this nation is suffering today. In short, politicians have a bad name in this country and if he doesn’t want his name to be tarnished, Pacman should leave politics to the politicians.

If there is any reason why Manny Pacquiao is a world boxing champion, it is due to the fact that he listens to his coach and handlers. Alas, when he listened to his political handlers, Manny Pacquiao tasted his first bitter defeat not in a boxing ring, but in the political ring, when he ran for Congress in the first district of South Cotabato against Darlene Antonino-Custodio who won by a landslide with 139,061 votes against Pacman’s 75,908 votes.

Of course, it goes without saying that while Manny is a boxing heavyweight, he is a political lightweight, while his political rival, the petite Rep. Darlene, is a political heavyweight. This is why Manny Pacquiao should stop listening to his “political advisers” and listen only to his boxing advisers.

If there’s anything seriously wrong with our current crop of politicians, it is that they all promise to help the poor, but if you look at their work, it is the poor who get the losing end of the deal. When former Bogota Mayor Enrique Peñalosa came to Cebu, I had him on my TV show Straight from the Sky where he showed me photos and videos of how government leaders or politicians from all over the world are very much the same. They say that they are for the poor, but they really don’t help the poor much.

Mayor Peñalosa told me, “Those who have less in life should have more in roads, sidewalks or parks.” This is akin to the most quoted phrase of the late President Ramon Magsaysay who once quipped, “To those who have less in life, they should have more in law.” But then Mayor Peñalosa showed me many photos of asphalted roads for cars, while the poor kids walked on unpaved sidewalks. The rich have their posh clubs or bars, but the poor do not even have parks. Hmmm, this is very true!

So ask yourself: since when did our political leaders give parks to their constituents? Usually, they’d give you a basketball court as Pinoys are basketball-crazy… but not all toddlers can play basketball and yes, there are a lot of toddlers out there who need a small playground to play. This is why I want to change our system of governance (through a con-con, of course) so we can focus our barangays to spend money on parks, not on something their constituents don’t really need.

Now back to Manny Pacquiao… he should reconsider his planned career shift to politics for the simple reason that there are thousands of politicians out there… while there is only one Manny Pacquiao. If he enters the world of politics, it’s a guarantee that he’ll disappear into oblivion!

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Here’s a self-explanatory e-mailed response to our article last week:

“Dear Bobit, regarding your article on investing in the Philippines. I am an Australian married to a Filipina and we intend to retire in the Philippines in 2009 but as far as investing goes, after reading the limited coverage given to the Hutchinsons’ plight in Boracay and relying only on e-mails from them I DON’T THINK SO. When legitimate investors are treated as criminals and held hostage in their own property how could an expat even consider investment, especially when there is little or no attempt by the media to get to the bottom of this outrageous, lawless and godless act. Please Bobit, try to get your company to give us some unbiased and truthful coverage. Alan Robinson” 

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For e-mail responses to this article, write to [email protected]. Bobit Avila’s columns can also be accessed through www.philstar.com. He also hosts a weekly talkshow, “Straight from the Sky,” shown every Monday, 8 p.m., only in Metro Cebu on Channel 15 of SkyCable.