Bowing to Father Time and moving on with grace

Senator Manny Pacquiao had an appointment with a much more formidable opponent last Saturday night in Las Vegas; one he and the rest of us can’t beat --Father Time.

Philboxing’s Dong Secuya said it aptly: “The trademark dashing in and out was no longer there. Rapid fire combinations were far and in between. The devil-may-care attitude was gone. The buzzsaw who threw hundreds of punches the whole night was a distant memory.”

I’m in my early forties now, and if Pacquiao was a personal friend, I would be telling him that no, 40 is not the new 30. We may still feel young and invigorated but 40 is different; kind of not your thirties, and definitely not your twenties.

It’s time for Pacquiao to hang up his gloves. For a man who lives and breathes boxing for over two decades, that might be extremely difficult to do. Pacquiao established his greatness in boxing. It’s the thrill of a good fight that keeps him excited. He rose to global popularity and built his political capital by way of the sport. A certain kind of myth surrounds a person like that.

I hope that by now his age has developed in him the strength of character to pull away from the gravity of all that mythology. He is boxing’s all-time great; nothing could take that away from him. But Pacquiao has to learn to bow to Father Time and move on to achieve others things that the lessons of his experience and the wisdom of his age might be able to offer.

Senator Pacquiao should now focus on his job as a public servant and as an inspiration to many Filipinos. During the post-fight interview the other day, he told the press that he will make an announcement about his political plans next month.

We are all aware of his ambition to become president of the Philippines. If he runs for president during the 2022 election, he will not be my choice for two main reasons.

One, it’s too early for him to run for the highest post of the land. Too early means he is just currently banking on his legendary feat as a boxer. He is an unremarkable politician and has yet to prove his depth of social engagement as a public servant.

Two, I don’t align with Pacquiao’s views on many important issues. His homophobic stance, for example, is something my LGBT friends can hardly forget. And I don’t blame them for rejoicing over Pacquiao’s loss to Yordenis Ugas the other day.

That aside, Pacquiao is still a national icon who captures the imagination of fans around the world. He makes his country proud whenever he appears in the ring. In there, he is a total fighter with a singular focus to entertain the fans.  Outside the ring, he manages to maintain a respectable image both as a sports icon and a politician with his measured words and grounded ways.

That is why I also won’t count him out as a potential leader until, God forbid, he proves himself worse than the smooth or brash-talking politicians we now have in office. But to become president next year? I won’t say the presidency is way out of his league because if I say so, I can also say the same for those now leading in the surveys.

Pacquiao’s work ethic as a boxer is legendary. He might be able to translate the same work ethic in public service. This kind of moving on toward public service entails strength of character which a man like Pacquiao has proven to possess.

But what could spoil his next steps toward a distinguished career in public service is Philippine society’s penchant to form grand narratives around its leaders whose egos pull them into basking in the glory of their own false crowns.