Pacman’s eldest out to make his own name

CEBU, Philippines —  Just two years ago, Jimuel Pacquiao had no intention of joining the showbiz industry, but here he is, recently launched as a member of ABS-CBN’s growing Squad Plus family.

“At first I was kind of nervous kasi I’m a newbie,” Jimuel admitted. “But I’m very thankful. Judging from what other people see from TV before because of my dad, with this, this is on my own so I get to make a name for myself now. I’m very thankful that I can be outside the shadow of my dad for the first time. I’m very happy.”

The 20-year-old Star Magic artist is thankful for the encouragement of his parents, boxing icon and senator Manny Pacquiao and mom, Jinkee, to traverse a different path from his first love which is boxing.

“They are very supportive naman kasi if papipiliin sila, showbiz or boxing, ‘dun sila sa showbiz kasi ayaw po nila akong mag-boxing.”

“They made sure in the beginning that I really wanted to go in kasi it’s very taxing daw schedule-wise and all that. Tinanong muna nila ako bago ako pumasok,” Jimuel shared.

Jimuel said the pressure has always been there, starting from his pursuit of his legendary father’s sport. As the eldest son of a prominent family, Jimuel thinks the high expectations are inevitable. He takes these as a challenge and believes he’s got the chops to succeed.

An advice from his folks that Jimuel bears to heart is keeping his spiritual faith strong. He said the most important thing for his family is God, “to always glorify God in everything you do because everything else will just follow.”

Now that he’s embarking on a life in the limelight full-blast, is he letting go of boxing? “Sa ngayon tuloy-tuloy pa rin naman [boxing]. I always find time to train. ‘Yun naman ang pinaka-importante and since I kind of started late na sa boxing, I have a lot of years na kailangang habulin. Kaya ko naman po siyang pagsabayin,” he said.

Jimuel, who currently appears in the Gold Squad (Andrea Brillantes, Francine Diaz, Kyle Echarri, and Seth Fedelin) anthology series “Click, Like, Share,” knows he has to focus since he still needs a lot of work. “I’m still a newbie so easy start muna and work my way up.”

Jimuel is joined in the Squad Plus family by fellow newbies who are stepping out of the shadows of their celebrity families to make a name for themselves: Nio Tria, Analain Salvador, Ashton Salvador, and Alyanna Angeles. — Niel Anthony Lajot, Silliman University Intern