Pacquiao’s fortitude PACMAN REFUSED P400-M OFFER TO JOIN LP SLATE

By Manny Piñol

Now that people are starting to see boxing icon Manny Pacquiao as a man who stands up to his principles, this story could be related in its entirety.

Last year, as the political parties were trying to form their senatorial line up, the 8-division world boxing champion said he was approached by political personalities associated with the administration party who offered him up to P400-M in “campaign funds” if he would join the Liberal Party senatorial line up.

“Una P300-M ang offer sa akin tapos ayusin daw nila ang kaso ko sa BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue). Noong sinabi ko ayaw ko, tinaas ng P400-M,” Pacquiao personally told me.

He said he turned down the offer.

Pacquiao’s refusal to join the LP was a result of what his former lawyer, Franklin “Jeng” Gacal, said was an embarrassing incident in 2012 when the boxing hero was supposed to take his oath as a new member of the administration party.

“They asked me to convince Manny to join LP and I was able to persuade him. So the oath taking was scheduled but when Manny was already at the LP headquarters, the oath taking was postponed. Apparently his political opponents blocked his entry to the LP,” Gacal told me.

Offended, Pacquiao decided to join Vice President Jejomar Binay’s UNA Party where he is now one of the candidates for Senator.

“Alam mo naman si Manny, maski anak ng mahirap yan, hindi mo kayang silawin ng pera yan. Talagang may prinsipyo yan,” Gacal said.

This now brings us to why Pacquiao joined Binay’s senatorial slate instead of being with his long-time friend, Davao City Mayor and presidential front-runner Rody Duterte.

Pacquiao, even when he was already a member of UNA, had long decided actually to support Duterte and join his senate slate had the Davao City Mayor decided early on to run for President.

I know this story because both Duterte and Pacquiao are my friends. I am supporting Duterte’s presidential candidacy and I am the producer of Pacquiao’s TV program on ABC Sports TV5, Blow by Blow Reloaded.

Somehow, I tried to work things out.

Up until midnight of Oct. 15, the eve of the last day for the filing of Certificates of Candidacy (COC), Pacquiao kept on calling Duterte convincing him to run for President.

“Tinawagan ko sya hatinggabi ng Oct. 15 pero sabi nya hindi talaga sya tatakbo,” Pacquiao told me.

So, on Oct. 16, Pacquiao went to the COMELEC with the party affiliation portion of his COC still vacant.

He finally wrote “UNA” as his party when he was already at the COMELEC.

“VP Binay knew that had Duterte ran, I would have joined Rody. But since I have already joined the UNA, I will have to stick it out. I cannot possibly jump out and join Rody again. It’s a matter of principles,” Pacquiao said.

Duterte understood this. I understood it.

The Davao City Mayor eventually agreed to join the Presidential race and substituted for PDP Laban candidate Martin Diño in late November of last year.

While Pacquiao publicly declares he is supporting Binay, he told me that he will be very happy if his friend, Duterte, makes it.

He has not also pressured people around him to vote for Binay, allowing them to make their own decision.

These stories, his refusal to be lured by the P400-M offer from LP and his decision to stick it out with UNA, exemplify Pacquiao’s personality.

Which is why I was not surprised when he clearly made his stand on the “Same Sex Marriage Issue” which caused an international backlash and the termination of his clothing endorsement deal with Nike.

A day after Nike announced that it was dropping Pacquiao as one of its endorsers, the senatorial candidate who has been derisively pictured by his detractors as an unthinking and mindless boxer who dreams of becoming a senator, was seen wearing a pair of Under Armour basketball shoes.

There were no angry words from Pacquiao directed at Nike or those who lambasted him for his position on the “Same Sex Marriage” issue.

“I stand by my statement,” he later said adding that while he respects personal relationships between people of the same sex, he will stand against any proposal to allow “Same Sex Marriage” in the Philippines.

(Photos of Manny Pacquiao wearing Under Armour basketball shoes were posted by his supporters in their Facebook accounts. Winchell Campos)