Calling himself the original "Mr. Palengke", presidential hopeful Senator Manny Pacquiao on Wednesday, Feb. 23 put a little over P5,000 in his pocket and made a grocery run in two public markets in Quezon City.
He did so to find out for himself if the amount can cover meals for at least 30 days for an ordinary wage earner’s family of four.
After touring Balintawak Market and Farmers Market, Pacquiao was left with two P1 coins and food items that would not even last 20 days for the said family of four. In short, he failed the P5,000 palengke challenge, but it was the high prices of goods that became his undoing.
“Isang napakalaking problema natin ang mataas ng presyo ng mga bilihin at mababang sahod. Kaya nga marami sa mga kababayan natin ang nagugutom (It's a big problem that we have such high priced goods amid low salaries. That's why a lot of our countrymen go hungry)” he said.
“Ang salary rate ay dapat nang itaas. Impotante na ang gobyerno ay mag-adjust para sa anumang paraan upang matulungan ang mga mahihirap (Salaries should be increased. It is important for government to adjust and do everything it can to help the poor),” he reckoned.
Pacquiao said proposals for the lowering of taxes should be explored.
The Filipino boxing icon told reporters that he is used to being in the market since it is here where he and his family used to scrounge for food. Pacquiao used to work for menial jobs in public markets in Saranggani and Bukidnon during his early teens.
The Mindanaoan senator said that extreme poverty drove his mother and his siblings to eat viands made out of fifish entrails. For breakfast, having scrambled eggs with onion leaves as an extender is considered a special meal.
Now a multi-billionaire, Pacquiao said whenever he is not busy, he goes to Guadalupe Market to do groceries for the family, adding that he no longer haggles with vendors like what he did at Balintawak Market.
“Pabaligtad ang tawad ko. (My haggle is in the reverse),” he said.
During an ensuing press conference at Farmers Market in Cubao, Pacquiao was asked if he can now claim the title “Mr. Palengke” which LIberal Party (LP) stalwart and former senator Mar Roxas used in promoting his presidential bid in 2016.
“Ako naman ang original na Mr. Palengke (I am indeed the original Mr. Palengke),” he proudly said.
Farmers Market is owned by the family of Roxas' mother, Judy Araneta-Roxas.