NO MOTORCADE THIS TIME: PACMAN HOME FROM L.A. POLITICS ON HIS MIND
[PHOTO AT LEFT - President Aquino receives an autographed miniature super welterweight championship belt, a set of DVDs and other souvenirs from Rep. Manny Pacquiao during a courtesy call at Malacañang's Premier Guest House yesterday. Looking on is Pacquiao's wife Jinkee. MANILA, Philippines]
MANILA, NOVEMBER 21, 2010 (STAR) World boxing champion Manny Pacquiao is willing to be the country's poster boy for tourism and has urged fellow Filipinos to make the country beautiful in the eyes of the world.
"As long as I can help the country and our beloved President and the majority, why not?" Pacquiao said in a press conference in Malacañang after a courtesy call on President Aquino.
The Filipino boxing icon arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminal 2 from Los Angeles, California with wife Jinkee on board Philippine Airlines flight PR 103 at 6:20 a.m. They were met by their children.
From there, Pacquiao was brought to the New World Hotel in Makati City for breakfast and a brief rest.
Pacquiao attended the traditional thanksgiving Mass at the Quiapo Church at 8:30 a.m. before his courtesy call on President Aquino in Malacañang.
A victory party was set at the Mall of Asia at 5 p.m.
In his arrival statement, Pacquiao thanked everyone who supported him and those who prayed for him during his fight with Antonio Margarito at the Cowboy Stadium in Texas last Nov. 14.
"We should not tarnish the Philippines' image and we should help make it known before the world because it is our country," he said.
Pacquiao gave the President a miniature championship belt that he autographed, a t-shirt with his face on it, and DVD copies of his fights.
In return, Aquino handed a bottle of champagne to Pacquiao.
Pacquiao said he would share his blessings with the people, especially those in need, and focus on his job as congressman of Sarangani.
The President, on the other hand, said he was grateful to hear that the people wanted Pacquiao to be the poster boy for tourism.
"Really, from somebody who had nothing and is now in the pinnacle of success, he should be admired, followed and emulated," Aquino said.
The President said it would be good to share the Philippines' history with the world and how "beautiful, rich and focused on where it should go" the country was right now.
But Aquino said he was not offering Pacquiao the position of peace negotiator and that he should not be given too much tasks since he also has to attend to his constituents.
Pacquiao said he was willing to help in any way he could for the sake of the country's peace and unity.
He said he would also make some investments in real estate but would have to settle all the concerns first, including opposition to his planned development.
Pacquiao added that he would build a hospital in his province and thanked the President for his suppport.
"Before, my ultimate dream was just to be a champion in the Philippines. But look at me now. This is because I lifted it all up to the Lord. If you do the same, wonderful things will happen to you," he said in his speech.
No retirement yet
Despite his success, Pacquiao said retiring from boxing was far from his mind yet and that a few fights were still lined up for him.
"I just finished a fight so let us forget about boxing for now. Let us first focus on service because as a congressman, I must be able to fulfill my duty to serve my constituents right," he said, brushing off speculations that he was preparing to run for president in 2016.
"Like what I said, it's not in my mind right now. Whatever I have now, I always thank the Lord for them. With my current position as congressman, that's where I am focused, whatever projects I can bring to my province, whatever service I can render to my constituents," Pacquiao said.
This early, however, the pound-for-pound king is also being considered for other tasks.
Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada, speaking at the launching of community-led initiatives for climate change adaptations and disaster risk reduction initiatives on Thursday, said the government is considering Pacquiao as climate change spokesman or poster boy or whatever fits the Filipino boxing hero.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Francisco Tinio Matugas (LP) said the idea "will automatically draw needed mass support among Filipinos for the climate change drive."
Lifetime achievement award filed
At the House of Representatives, Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone has filed a bill establishing the Manny Pacquiao Lifetime Achievement Award, which is projected to be the equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize in sports.
In filing House Bill No. 3681, Evardone said the highest singular honor the whole world can give to the Filipino boxing icon is to institute a system of awarding and recognizing the world's greatest athletes in his name.
"Just when everyone the world over looks up to him with awe and admiration after his methodical demolition of Mexican Antonio Margarito, it's high time we come forward as a nation to tell the world that we know how to honor our very own hero before other nations do it ahead of us," he said.
"If the Nobel Peace Prize has attained that much adulation and respect through the years, I think an international recognition for the world's greatest athletes in Pacquiao's name would be just as prestigious," he said.
Under the bill, the Manny Pacquiao Lifetime Achievement Award will be administered by an independent body to be known as the Philippine Institute for Sports Excellence (PISE), which shall also be mandated to rationalize a system of reward and recognition for deserving Filipino athletes.
The PISE will be administratively attached to the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) but totally independent from it, and from the Games and Amusements Board (GAB). It will be headed by a chairman and five commissioners including the PSC, GAB, and Commission on Higher Education chairman in an ex-officio capacity.
Initially, the PISE will have a budget of P100 million to be appropriated by Congress but will be empowered to tap the resources of the private sector to ease the burden on the national coffers as the years go by.
"We never had it so good in the global arena of sports," Evardone said.
"Imagine if we can put in one stage the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods in the game of golf, boxer Muhammad Ali, basketball legends Michael Jordan and Earvin Magic Johnson, Formula 1 icon Michael Schumacher, cyclist Lance Armstrong, former world chess champions Gary Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov, tennis superstars Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and many more standing side by side with Pacquiao," Evardone said.
Ang Kasangga party-list Rep. Teodorico Haresco, one of the lawmakers who filed resolutions to honor Pacquiao, said the Sarangani representative's "admirable work ethic, courage, determination and discipline to excel in his profession is something that Filipinos must emulate in order to gloriously overcome the challenges that may come in their respective pursuits."
He said over and above the boxing prowess that Pacquiao showed despite the weight, height and reach advantage of Margarito, "Pacquiao showed mercy to his brave but pitiful opponent and chose to coast to victory without going for a final-round knockout.
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. is expected to confer on Pacquiao tomorrow the Congressional Medal of Distinction and host a simple victory dinner for him at the grounds of the Batasang Pambansa.
Holiday in Sarangani
Meanwhile, Sarangani province will declare Dec. 17 a holiday for the grand celebration of the 32nd birthday of its lone congressman.
"Dec. 17 is going to be my birthday again and it will be a holiday for the whole Sarangani," Pacquaio revealed yesterday.
He said that Top Rank Boxing Promotion president Bob Arum and President Aquino are coming for his birthday.
He will also sponsor a series of tournaments for boxing, billiards and other sports with millions in prizes at stake.
"It's going to be a grand celebration and a big festivity for the whole Sarangani," one of the lawmaker's congressional staff said. - With Paolo Romero, Ben Serrano, Rudy Santos, Sanday Araneta, Rose Tamayo-Tesoro, Aie Balagtas See and Abac Cordero
Pacquiao arrives today, to pay courtesy call on Aquino By Abac Cordero (The Philippine Star) Updated November 20, 2010 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao comes home from Los Angeles today almost a week after his 12-round destruction of Mexico's Antonio Margarito and his recognition as the only boxer in history ever to win eight world titles in as many divisions.
There will be no motorcade for Pacquiao, who is scheduled to arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at around 5:30 a.m. with his wife Jinkee, other relatives and close friends. Expected to lead the welcomers are the Pacquiao kids.
From there, Pacquiao will be brought to the New World Hotel in Makati so he can have breakfast and a very brief rest.
Pacquiao will attend the traditional thanksgiving Mass at the Quiapo Church at 8:30 a.m. and before noon he should be in Malacañang to meet President Aquino. Pacquiao's meeting with the President will not be open to media.
A victory party has been set at the Mall of Asia at 5 p.m.
Pacquiao's business manager Eric Pineda said the boxer will be the special guest in GMA 7's noontime show tomorrow.
The big day comes on Monday when Pacquiao, the fighting congressman from Sarangani, reports for work at the Batasan complex. Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. will lead lawmakers in a grand welcome for their esteemed colleague.
Pacquiao pummeled Margarito for 12 brutal rounds last Sunday at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and won the vacant WBC super-welterweight championship, his eighth world title in eight different weight classes.
He has now been hailed as "the greatest boxer of all time."
Pacquiao's adviser, Mike Koncz. spoke to The STAR before the world's pound-for-pound champion and his small entourage boarded the Philippine Airlines plane that will take them to Manila via Guam.
"He feels more relaxed now," said Koncz when asked how Pacquiao was doing.
Pacquiao won the bout unanimously, but he also paid the price for facing someone as big, as tall, as heavy, as strong as Margarito, who hurt the Filipino champion with two solid left hooks to the right side of the body in the sixth round.
Pacquiao appeared to be shaken by those body blows, and his chief trainer, Freddie Roach, who was right in front of the action, said he thought his fighter would go down. But Pacquiao managed to get out of the situation in no time at all.
Two days after the fight, Pacquiao was brought to a hospital in Los Angeles for precautionary check up. He took some X-Rays and other tests and was declared safe and fit by the attending physicians.
Margarito took a severe beating from the smaller Filipino, his right eye shut and bloody. He underwent operation in Texas last Tuesday, and doctors said it was a very successful procedure.
"He's feeling good. Now he looks like he hadn't been through a fight," said Koncz.
On his final day in LA prior to his flight back home, Pacquiao honored some business commitments, like a commercial shoot for some product endorsement.
He staged a concert in Lake Tahoe last Tuesday, and another one at the Hidden Brook Golf and Country Club in Vallejo, California.
There have been calls for Pacquiao's retirement, including that from his mother, Mommy Dionisia, who at the height of last week's boxing match was taken to the hospital due to a panic attack.
Bill Dwyre, the legendary sports columnist of the Los Angeles Times, is also among those who think Pacquiao should hang up his gloves.
"I'd like to see him win this fight and quit," said Dwyre prior to the match. "Quit while he's ahead, quit while he's on top."
But Pacquiao said hanging up his gloves is not in his agenda right now.
"I am still strong. I will continue fighting," he said.
That was music to the ears of most Pacquiao fans, and to his promoter Bob Arum's.
"Manny definitely said he will fight again. It's not if he will fight again but when. I will discuss with him the schedule he wants to follow," said the chief of Top Rank Promotions, who must have run out of his own boxers to throw at Pacquiao.
Pacquiao had defeated his fellow Top Rank boxers in his last three fights, starting with Miguel Cotto, Joshua Clottey and Margarito.
"I've run out of my own guys. He beat all my guys," said Arum, now looking at Floyd Mayweather Jr., Shane Mosley or Juan Manuel Marquez as Pacquiao's next opponent, all of them with ties to Golden Boy Promotions.
Meantime, Malacañang said yesterday they still have to see what more awards could be bestowed on Pacquiao. – With Aurea Calica
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