MEDIUM RARE
Jullie Y. Daza
Robredo/Trillanes/Poe/Villanueva/Diokno/Santos-Recto. No Pacquiao. A let-down!
1Sambayan’s list of nominees for the presidential and senatorial elections next year is, to put it kindly, totally unexciting.
Pacman, the most famous Filipino in the world, hurt by his own party, PDP-Laban (of which he is acting president), when they went against his advice not to go ahead with their national meeting in Cebu City. The boxing champion who nearly got knocked out of the love triangle among himself, party chairman President Duterte, and party vice chairman Al Cusi for questioning the party’s plan to make PRRD his daughter Sara’s VP running mate.
Pacman, the only Filipino senator who has written US President Biden to expedite US-made vaccines. The only Filipino non-diplomat who has asked the Chinese ambassador to send home those stubborn Chinese ships occupying our EEZ.
Pacman, whose forthcoming fight with an undefeated opponent 10 years his junior is in the center of local and international sports news, with none other than Floyd Mayweather telling the world how it saddened him to know that at his age the senator still has to fight.
Verily, Manny Pacquiao is a hot topic here and abroad. In terms of publicity mileage alone, how do 1Sambayan’s six nominees match his shine as a candidate with instant recall? The only one who’s saying it’s too early to talk about the presidential elections is Senator Pacquiao. Why he didn’t make the list suggests there was a split decision, rather than unanimity, among the convenors, unless that mystery is part of the opposition’s strategy.
For PDP-Laban, Pacquiao’s non-inclusion in the meantime means the ruling party can breathe another day. But tomorrow is another day. A few days ago, he scored points for his reply to President Duterte’s comment that the senator’s “shallow knowledge of history” does not qualify the pambansang kamao to talk about foreign policy, specifically the West Philippine Sea. Pacman’s retort was to the effect that he did not need to read history to realize that what is ours is ours and we must love and keep what we own.
We have two months – that’s when our champ meets his foe in Las Vegas – to count how many more victories, if any, Manny Pacquiao will have under his belt by then.