SENADO 2016, sino nga ba?
Research and Profile by
Raphael Rayco
2013-20787
Emmanuel "Manny" Dapidran Pacquiao
Party: United Nationalist Alliance (UNA)
Born: December 17, 1978, Kimbawe, Bukidnon
In his most recent battle, Sarangani District Representative Emmanuel “Manny” Dapidran Pacquiao has drawn more critics than ever before.
“Animals are better because they can distinguish male from female. If men mate with men and women mate with women, they are worse than animals,” said Rep. Pacquiao on TV5’s Bilang Pilipino, provoking an online storm.
With Pacquiao on one side of the issue is Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, who said “gays should move to Mars.” United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) presidential bet, Vice President Jejomar Binay also defended him for voicing out his beliefs.
In the opposite corner of the ring is Fil-Am pro-wrestler Batista, who called Pacquiao a “f**king idiot” for having such principles. Bob Arum, owner of Golden Boy Promotions, also disagreed with him. Even Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr., whom many consider to be his greatest rival in the boxing ring, condemned his opinion.
World-renowned shoe brand Nike, which sponsored the world boxing champion in his previous fights, also cut its ties with him for his “abhorrent” remarks.
Locally, one of the most controversial of oppositions is from gay comedian Vice Ganda who blatantly showed withdrawal of support by tweeting “The LGBT is a group of people. We are humans. But not animals. Though we're no saints we will pray for Manny Pacquiao,” and starting the hashtag “#PrayForMannyPacquiao.”
Pacquiao may not be so used to this much criticism, considering his life in boxing, before he entered politics.
Boxing career
A teenage Manny Pacquiao was first seen on television in Blow by Blow, a local show where young amateur Filipino boxers are made to fight against each other. There, he grabbed the attention of the Filipino boxing community with his all-or-nothing boxing style and boyish smile.
His victories piled up and led to his first blockbuster win against Mexico’s Marco Antonio Barrera in 2003, earning him the Ring magazine’s featherweight champion title.
With the help of American trainer Freddie Roach, he won consecutively in a series of fights against the era’s top competitors in the likes of Oscar dela Hoya, Erik Morales, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Joshua Clottey, Shane Mosely, and Antonio Margarito.
In June 2012, the pound-for-pound champion was riding a 15-fight winning streak which was halted via a split decision loss against Timothy Bradley, causing him to lose his WBO welterweight title to the challenger.
Then, he also lost two blockbuster fights against Juan Manuel Marquez and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. in December 2012 and May 2015, respectively.
Many sports critics, including respected boxing analyst Ronnie Nathanielsz, blamed Pacquiao’s change of religion, from Roman Catholicism to Evangelical Protestantism, as the cause of these key losses in his career.
He said certain "rituals" seemed to bring a special significance to the boxer's bouts.
“In the past, he put the rosary around his neck and prayed solemnly in one corner,” Nathanielsz said.
Despite the recent losses, Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao is still the first and only eight-time world boxing champion. He was named “Fighter of the Decade” for the 2000s by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA), World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization.
He is also a three-time The Ring and BWAA “Fighter of the Year,” award in 2006, 2008 and 2009, and the Best Fighter ESPY Award in 2009 and 2011.
In 2003, Pacquiao was also voted “Person of the Year” in the Philippines over Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who was then two years into her term as president of the country.
Family and early life
A husband to Sarangani Vice-Gov. Maria Geraldine “Jinkee” Jamora and a father to Jimuel, Michael, Princess, Queenie, and Israel, Rep. Manny Pacquiao is known to be a family man.
The congressman is also very close to his media-savvy mother, Dionesia Dapidran, also known as “Mommy D.” She is separated from Manny’s father, Rosalio Pacquiao, who left them for another family.
Rep. Pacquiao was born on December 17, 1978 in Kimbawe, Bukidnon. The fourth of six children, he experienced extreme poverty growing up.
He completed his elementary education in General Santos City, but dropped out of high school.
Because of extreme poverty, he left home and boarded a ship headed to the National Capital Region at 14 years old to pursue his boxing dreams.
In 2007, he passed a high school equivalency exam making him eligible for college education, then enrolled for a college degree in business management at Notre Dame of Dadiangas University (NDDU).
Pacquiao was also conferred the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humanities by Southwestern University (SWU) in recognition of his boxing achievements and humanitarian work.
In preparation for Congress, the boxer also enrolled in the Certificate Course in Development, Legislation and Governance at the Development Academy of the Philippines – Graduate School of Public and Development Management (DAP-GSPDM).
Entering politics
Pacquiao made his first to enter politics in 2007 when he ran for a seat in the House of Representatives of the Philippines. He was defeated by incumbent Rep. Darlene Antonino-Custodio, and returned to life as a full-time boxer.
In 2009, however, he formed a new Filipino political party, the People's Champ Movement, and again ran for a legislative seat.
He won in a landslide, beating opponent Roy Chiongbian to become the Sarangani province representative in May 2010. Three years later, he earned a second term after running unopposed for re-election.
However, he is criticized for only coming into session four times in 2015, the worst record in the House. He has also yet to author or co-author a bill in Congress.
“I don’t want to boast about what I have done in my district, but you can see my accomplishments in my district. It’s important that you help your constituents and not just sit in Congress,” he said. “[In Congress] all you do is file bills, but the bills have no benefits to the people.”
Now, the Sarangani representative is running for a seat in the Philippine Senate under UNA, with its standard bearers Jejomar Binay and Gregorio Honasan.
The congressman was part of the Department of Social Work and Development’s (DSWD) poverty reduction programs as an endorser in 2011. Then DSWD Secretary Corazon Soliman affirmed that he “symbolizes the Filipino’s struggle to rise above poverty which the three core poverty reduction programs seek to achieve.”
In terms of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law, Pacquiao expressed his preference to not include Sarangani in the Moro region that would be formed because “there is already relative peace and order in the province.”
“The inclusion of Sarangani and other parts of Mindanao may cause instability and further complicate our search for inclusive lasting peace,” he said.
In another social issue today, the RH Bill, Pacquiao said he firmly believes life is sacred. His latest knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez strengthened this belief, he said.
"What happened in Vegas reinforced my belief that life is sacred." Pacquiao added.
As per the latest Pulse Asia survey last January, the boxer is at the eighth spot of the so-called “Magic 12” senatoriables. This survey, however, was done before his interview on Bilang Pilipino.
Will the People’s Champion be able to succeed in his upcoming bout to enter the Philippine Senate, or is it time for him to hang his gloves in politics for good?
SOURCES:
http://mannypacquiao.com.ph/biography/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manny_Pacquiao
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/feb/16/manny-pacquiao-gay-people-worse-than-animals/
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/693673/pacquiao-doesnt-want-sarangani-to-be-part-of-bangsamoro-region/
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/673322/pacquiao-on-bbl-no-comment/
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/323581/rep-pacquiao-explains-vote-vs-rh-bill