Useless indignation

Manny Pacquiao already belongs to the rich and famous in our country. He is well loved by his countrymen because of his exceptional ability and daring exploits in the physically punishing and cruel sport of boxing. To Filipinos he is the Pambansang kamao who restored our country back into the limelight and revived our reputation as one of the most intrepid and hardworking people all over the world. Indeed because of his achievements in this field of sport, the Philippines have somehow regained its prominent place in the world map. He can even be considered as the counterpart of Miss Universe who equally brought honor and fame to our country and people in the field of beauty and pulchritude.

Indeed with his status in life, he can already retire, just sit back, relax and enjoy life with his family and friends. Or he can also help other Filipinos especially in his province improve their lives by financially assisting in various socio-economic projects. Or even if he wants to be involved in politics, he could just have supported others who are more capable and qualified for the various elective positions in government. He can be more effective and useful by sticking to his field of expertise instead of being a “jack of all trades.”

But we cannot really blame him for choosing to enter politics and run for election as one of the senators of the Republic. This is an opportunity open to every natural-born Filipino, at least thirty-five years of age on the day of election, able to read and write, a registered voter and a resident of the Philippines for not less than two years immediately preceding the day of the election (Article VI Section 3 of the Constitution).

To be sure, Pacquiao decided to enter politics, first at the local level as congressman in their province and now at the national level as senator, mainly because of his popularity and name recall which are vital ingredients in winning elections in our country, aside from money and machinery. We cannot really blame him for seizing this opportunity for public service. Nevertheless, there are really other candidates more capable and with better credentials than him who can perform better as legislators and deserve our vote. But they lack the “win-ability” that Pacquiao possesses.

 And maybe by sheer luck or knack to generate and maintain public attention, Pacquiao still continues to hug the limelight especially during this campaign period when other candidates for senator are at a loss on how they can catch the public’s attention. Wittingly or unwittingly, he just made another quotable quote that enabled him to land in the front pages of the newspapers and the viral screen of social media worth more than the paid political ads that the other candidates.

Pacquiao indeed delivered another knockout punch with his statement about same-sex union which generated a lot of anger and resentment especially from those who felt maligned and insulted. Actually he was merely stating a matter of fact, when he likened the acts of those engaging in same sex relationship to that of animals. He was not really maligning their persons but only their actions. He was merely stressing the very essence and nature of every human being which is found in the Sacred Scriptures: “When God created man, He made him in His own image and likeness. He created them male and female (Genesis 5:1-2)

The reactions of those affected have a more beneficial effect on Pacquiao’s candidacy for senator. The people’s attention continues to be focused on him. He continues to remain in the limelight as he apologizes to those who felt unnecessarily hurt by his misunderstood statement even if they were not the ones alluded to. And as the LGBTs vehemently attacked him and committed to campaign against him, Pacquiao seemed to have acquired more and more admirers   (voters) as he stood his ground and remained firm on his belief after clarifying what he said and apologizing. Other candidates for senator must really be coveting at his good fortune of catching public attention and generating more votes without spending a single centavo while they spent millions of pesos for their political ads.

The LGBTs should therefore stop their ranting and ravings as they only help the subject of their ire. Indeed there is no point at all in relentlessly attacking Pacquiao. The more they put him down the more he appears to attract more sympathizers and voters. Besides, even our own laws are not on their side. Our laws on marriage and family relations only speak of “man and woman.”

 The Family Code (Article I) defines marriage as a “special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman. One of its essential requisites is the “legal capacity of the parties who must be a male and a female” (Article 2). Marriage in accordance with law is for the establishment of conjugal and family life which necessarily involves the procreation of children. And procreation of children can be done only by a man and a woman.

In one case (Silverio vs. Republic, G.R. 174689, October 22, 2007), our Supreme Court has occasion to discuss this issue of sex when it ruled. “The words sex, male and female as used in the Civil Register Law and laws containing the civil registry (and even all other laws) should therefore be understood in their common and ordinary usage, there being no legislative intent to the contrary. In this connection sex is defined as the “sum of peculiarities of structure and function that distinguish a male from a female. Female is the sex that produces ova or bears the young child, and male is the sex that has organs to produce spermatozoa for fertilizing ova. Thus the words “male” and “female” in everyday understanding do not include persons who have undergone sex reassignment.”

Even our own folklore only talks of the legend of malakas at maganda as narrated in the following verses:

”Amihan gazed upon the bamboo reed planted by Bathala and she heard voices coming from inside the bamboo. “Oh North Wind! North Wind! Please let us out!” the voices said. She pecked the reed once, then twice. All of a sudden, the bamboo cracked and slit open. Out came two human beings; one was a male and the other was a female. Amihan named the man “Malakas” (Strong) and the woman “Maganda (Beautiful).”

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