sked just now at a Press Conference ringed by politicians and sycophants about how he intends to prepare for SERIOUS challengers in the ring (Marquez, Barrera), Manny Pacquiao flippantly answered that he only has two things to do if he wins election to Congress in May--boxing and lawmaking. "How hard could that be," he asks without a clue in Tagalog, when he says that other lawmakers don't have every law memorized anyway and have advisers and lawyers to do the work for them. Pressed for specifics on his legislative agenda, all that matters, he claims is, whether the people choose him to be their leader and that he has good intentions to help them out of their poverty and misery. He apparently has no problems memorizing what he has been coached to say, though it boggles the mind how stupid he must think everybody else is.Well, we already know where that road leads which is paved with Manny Pacquiao's ever-so-sincere good intentions. But his disdain for politicians who don't fulfill their election campaign promises may well be remembered later on, if and when he botches both boxing and politics from thinking he can do them both at the same time. His upcoming fights won't be presenting him with such easy opponents as the clearly outmatched Jorge Solis, who hasn't defeated anyone of real consequence according to ring commentators I listened to before and after the fight. Assuming he wins election in May against the 85-pound lady candidate in his hometown of General Santos City, it'll be interesting to see how his political handlers -- like Mayor Lito Atienza, Luis Chavit Singson, and First Gentleman Mike Arroyo -- parlay his fame and fortune into their own. Perhaps the choice of Solis was already dictated by THEIR needs for publicity in this election. They are clearly using him for selfish purposes and he will surely sell everyone short if he continues to allow it. Nothing can apparently stop his entry into politics and I won't be niggardly now about my praise for his boxing skills, which were in evidence even if he did not have to prepare as hard this time around. I actually enjoyed his previous fights, including the most recent one...but not as much as the ones coming up. Dramatic tragedy is, after all, not about sadness or misfortune, but the inexorable working of things that arise from the flaws and weaknesses of human beings.
I am a great believer in heroes–those few individuals who can inspire the mediocre many to greatness, or at least greater effort. What I don’t want to happen is for Manny Pacquiao to fail at BOTH politics and boxing, which will certainly happen if and when he fails at the latter, which is the “talent” that God gave him. Of course he is free to enter politics as a matter of civil right, but it’s really too bad that he may not be that rare hero whose heroism is humility and dedication to what he is truly good at. I don’t begrudge him his good fortune thus far, but I can already mourn our loss…
7 comments:
That is the problem. Those who surround Mr. Pacquiao not what Mr. Pacquiao intends.
Abraham Lincoln could easily maneuver those around him into doing what he wanted them to do. I fear Mr. Pacquiao is one of those guys who became famous & admired quickly and thinks that fame & admiration can now be used to insulate him from those who would use him to achieve their own ends. Nothing wrong in being used to help others achieve their aims, but be aware of it and do so voluntarily and agreeably.
Yeah, it is not the worst thing to refrain from getting bogged down in nitty-gritty policy details in press conferences & the like but it should not be written off as a trivial matter. How is he going to react in a committee where they spend 45 minutes bickering over one word or phrase in a bill? I have sat in on US congressional district party resolution committee meetings and 45 minutes on one word or phrase is not even close to being an exaggeration. Refrain because you know it would put people to sleep not because you have no clue.
If there is anything to say for him here, it is he is starting off closer to the bottom than another person who parlayed his acting fame into elected office. Still, those who are surrounding him and his run are not for neophyte pols. The office is a major heat source which he may be able to handle, but at least one of those close to him in this effort is nuclear fission. Better for him how to handle fire before moving on to nuclear heat sources.
What's really bad is they say he's gonna win that Congress seat. Doesn't say much for the electorate, though that isn't anything unique to the Philippines. Right now, we're all glued to CNN coz of what's happening in Blacksburg Virginia. Really sad that. They say it was an "Asian man"...Hope it's not a Pinoy, though that would not mitigate the tragedy...
It's the pork. Manny Pacquiao's congressional aspirations have less to do with legislation than with the disbursement of pork. That's his platform: that he'll use pork to help more people. His utility therefore to his constituency depends on the continuance of pork barrel funds. Without it he'll just be another fixture staring at the ceiling, if he bothers to attend sessions at all.
(And I have to disagree with you, rizalist, about his last fight with Solis. It was boring. Manny displayed power, but not boxing skills. If Solis were fit--he had to struggle to make weight--and didnt fade in the later rounds, Pacquiao wouldve been outboxed.)
It'll be interesting to see him fight a real contender like Marquez or Barrera where physical and mental skills will really both count. I'm not a big boxing afficionado, so I'll leave the expert opinion to others. I agree with you that this latest fight wasnt the most exciting.
I couldn't agree more. I believe in heroes, but as a people we tend to destroy them. And what I find tragic is that while we have a poverty of heroes we still get by on idols and an overabundance of martyrs.
The pride he brings to our country is already a great service, an accomplishment not many Filipinos can match in their lifetime. A congressional run can only be a disservice, something we've had too much in our lifetimes.
Everything else, I've written down in my article, "The Fall of Manny Pacquiao".
yeah, manny is better off punching the faces of mediocre mexicans while waiting for bob arum and oscar dela hoya to finally close the deal on a barrera-pacquiao or marquez-pacquiao encounter.
Manny should just concentrate on training and his nest opponent. He can consider his political ambition after his boxing career. His decision to run for office will not be good for Philippine boxing and the voters.
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