GENERAL SANTOS CITY - Dionisia ‘Mommy D’ Pacquiao brought the house down with funny recollection of her family’s impoverished past life while Jinky Pacquiao saw the audience swooning as she narrated how her husband courted her.
The emotions changed as PROMDI presidential aspirant Sen. Manny Pacquiao recounted details of his family’s life before he became the most popular Filipino worldwide as internatioonal professional boxing champion in eight weight categories.
Television cameras caught many in tears as Pacquiao recalled one chapter in their life when the whole Pacquiao brood complained of hunger, with Mommy D telling them just to fill their tummies by drinking water.
“My Mommy D was having fever then but didn’t stop repacking fish crackers which was her job then,” said Pacquiao who was in near tears.
In Pacquiao’s initial speech to kick off his campaign for the presidency, the the senator explained that he chose this city for his campaign kick off because “this is where I started to dream of saving my family” from poverty.
The Bible-preaching lawmaker said that despite the difficult life he and his brothers faced, Mommy D taught them to work hard for each centavo they earned.
“Huwag kayo manloko, huwag kayo magnakaw, huwag kayo humingi. Magsumikap at gamitin ang lakas sa paghahanapbuhay. (Do not cheat, do not steal, do not ask. Work hard and use your brawn in making a living),” Pacquiao recalled during his proclamation rally at the Oval Plaza Grandstand here.
Pacquiao stressed that after saving his family from poverty, he is tasking himself to make life more comfortable to the millions of impoverished Filipinos abandoned as a result of massive corruption under various government administrations.
“Ang daming pangako tuwing eleksyon, wala naman nagbago. (We hear many promises each election but nothing changed),” he said.
“Gusto ko kung ako ang magiging presidente na makita ninyo ang mga kawatan sa gobyerno ay matanggal o mapunta sa preso. (I want you to see that once I become president the corrupt will be booted out or sent to prison),” he said.
“By the grace of God, pagdating ng panahon bawat PIlipino panalo sa laban ni Manny Pacquiao. May trabaho bawat Pilipino at walang mahihirap na inaapi! Pantay-pantay tayo sa batas, walang inaagrabyado. Lahat ng Pilipino may bahay na matutuluyan. (by the grace of God, when time comes all Filipinos will win in Manny Pacquiao’s fight. Every Filipino will have a job, the poor will not be oppressed. There’s is equality in law and nobody gets is treated unfairly. All Filipinos will have a house to live in),” he declared.