Manny Pacquiao Should Shun Politics

March 12,2010
Manny Pacquiao Should Shun Politics
By Quirico M. Gorpido, Jr.

Maasin City, Southern Leyte-Manny Pacquiao, an obscure man in the past, but now shines like a gem in the world of boxing as champions in 6 different divisions, should not and must not enter politics. He should take heed to the advice of his mother, relatives and fans. Whoever advises Manny Pacquiao to enter politics is not actually helping him. He /she would be leading him to a potentially unredeemable downfall. Manny himself must also recognized that academically and educationally he is not qualified, whether he would accept it or not. This is an advice of concern from one of his fans. Most of his fans think that he should not enter politics and must remain as a boxing icon, being the only Asian who wins in 6 various weight divisions (including the 3 successive wins in his career within a year in 2008).
He must be proud of this achievement of course, but not to the extend of entering the political arena, where he knows nothing yet about governance.Pacquiao can serve and help the poor Filipinos if he really wants too without tainting himself with dirty politics. This is one of the things that he must avoid venturing into, for it’s not sure hit for him. With his millions and millions of money he can create jobs that would generate employment and preferably hire the poor and jobless people where his businesses are established. There’s no need for him to enter politics, which he is not prepare to face this strange area. He must be satisfied in what he has already accomplished.
It would be better for him now to continue his study in Business Management and his English language tutoring and to engage in marketing and in other business activities to improve his skill in business endeavor. With his vast money deposits, he can now provide for a good quality education for his children.
Courses like Medicine, Science and Technology, Education, Aeronautics, Engineering, Architecture, Music and Arts, Commerce, Military Service, Foreign Service and Journalism are among recommendable college courses that his children can now choose because Pacquiao has the big means and can well afford for the good future of his children
To start disciplining also his children as part of nurturing and raising his family and showing a good example for them would lead them to become good and productive citizens of this country in the future. In these things should Manny Pacquiao must focus his attention, time and effort after retiring from boxing. Since he is already recognized as a popular pound-for-pound fighter and is chosen as the Man of the Year 2008 by the Philippines Sportswriters Association, he is now in turn a legend in the field of boxing. Is he not contended and satisfied with this kind of hard-earned benchmark and accolades bestowed upon him?
On the other hand, if Pacquiao really is seriously interested in serving the country as a politician, he must prepare himself by taking a 4-year course in Public Administration and a 4-year-course in law. This is because one of the works of a Congressman or Senator in Congress is to legislate and enact laws. But this will take another long years of dedication and devotion for Manny before he could finish these courses. In the Philippines our kind of politics is tainted with irregularities and anomalies that will most likely would also taint his name as former champion boxer.
If Manny Pacquiao is sensitive enough to perceive the reason why some politicians and businessmen want him to run as Congressman, is that they are only riding on his popularity status. They seem not to look into consideration how the low-graded boxer would fare in his uncharted and unknown course. The only way that Manny can keep his name untainted by political maneuverings and irregularities is to keep away from politics’ temptive prodding and urgings. Those political paddings of condescension and sweet talks are just a passing scene and will vanish in the air after the political campaign sorties. It would be much better for him also to save his millions from being wasted in a political exercise where he has a very slim chance of winning. This is an advice of concern from a fan.
Furthermore, if any Filipino citizen really wants to serve his country, he/she must prepare himself/herself to any position in the Government Service by taking one or two 4-year college courses needed and required in a government positions he/she is planning to occupy. I don’t think that any position in the Government Service is just a joke that anybody will just be allowed to run even without meeting first the necessary requirements and qualifications. To run for any government position should not be a product of an actor’s,actress’or any other Filipino’s whims and caprices but of being and having prepared for such positions by finishing a 4-year college course or courses. A simple law stating that able to read and write and a natural born Filipino citizen are enough requirements for those who want to run for President or any position in the Government Service must be amended now.
This kind of such a very simple law is no longer workable and acceptable in our modern times. The current age of space travel, state-of –the-art gadgets, modern communication facilities, sophisticated weapons of destruction, cellphones and computer-internet connections has shrank the distances of millions of miles among nations by just a cellphone call or a computer-internet click which cause for the transformation of all nations into global communities and global villages.
Now that Manny Pacquiao has successfully won his recent 7th world title in a historic bout against Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico at MGM Grand Arena in Nevada, Las Vegas,USA, and become the first ever boxer worldwide to win in 7 different weight divisions, the more he should remain humble. He can retire now. But if he still wants to fight one more bout with Mayweather or Valerio (now Clottey), that would be alright.However, after this incoming event, win or loss, he should retire from boxing for good. He should stop subjecting his body to over absorption of more punishing punches, jabs, blows and uppercuts to lessen the adverse effects of bodyhits when he reaches the old age. Even how much the temptive pressure he will going to receive from politicians to enter the political arena, he should not allow himself to be carried away by any kind of persuasion and flattery. It would be the best and the excellent to remember Manny Pacquiao as the greatest Asian boxer of his era by winning 7 titles in 7 different weight classes sans participation in dirty politics.(Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.)