THE GOOD HEART OF MANNY PACQUIAO…

Last week, I received a very pleasant news from my brother, Mayor Efren of Magpet town.

He met Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao in an event held in Gen. Santos City and the question that the Pacman immediately asked him was: “Kamusta si Gov. Manny?”

I have not seen Manny since late last year and to know that he missed my presence around him was news that warmed the heart.

When told by Mayor Efren that the surveys showed that I was well ahead of the incumbent Governor of North Cotabato but that my campaign was bedraggled by the lack of resources, Manny’s immediate response was: “Please tell him to see me right away.”

I have known Manny Pacquiao since he was a young boxer fighting for fame and struggling to make a fortune.

Along with Mayor Rody Duterte of Davao City, I staged his first big purse – P10-M – when he fought and demolished Thailand’s Frakhaporb Rakkiatgym in the RMC Gym many years ago.

In all of those years, I have remained a concerned friend to Manny, advising him on many things, including his involvement with cockfighting where he personally pitted roosters armed with sharp knives.

I was afraid that he could get hurt in an accident and it would affect his boxing career.

Many times, I watched his career from a distance and witnessed how, as he grew more popular, new and strange faces started cropping up in the frames of the TV cameras during his fights and the many interviews.

Wednesday night when I visited him in Gen. Santos City, those strange faces were nowhere in sight. Those that remained were the familiar faces I saw when Manny was still searching for fame and fortune.

“They are gone, huh?” I asked him and he gave me a wry smile and said: “I knew this day would come.”

The day that Manny referred to was the disappearance of people who milled around him and milked him when he was on top of the world following his defeat to nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez and his expected departure from the ring.

Indeed, “Victory has many Fathers; Defeat is an orphan.”

Manny has a golden heart. He forgave his father even when he abandoned the family when he was young. He searched for his father and showered him with love and attention.

Wednesday night, Manny Pacquiao, knowing that my political campaign for the Governorship of North Cotabato was bothered by the lack of resources, put his arm on my shoulder and whispered: “I will support you.”

Those four words almost lifted me up in the air. It was a gesture by a friend who has not forgotten people who helped him while he was on the way up.

“I have a helicopter. You can use it anytime you need it,” Manny told me.

As I took the 3 hour trip back home to North Cotabato from Gen. Santos City at 2 o’clock in the morning, I could not help by appreciate the goodness of the heart of Manny Pacquiao.

It is this heart which holds a special place for his family members and friends who have remained loyal to him that makes Manny Pacquiao a champion both inside and outside the ring.

There can only be one Manny Pacquiao and I am happy that in my lifetime, I was able to meet and befriend this man with the Fists of Stone and the Heart of Gold.