THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG
By Aquiles Z. Zonio
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 17 Apr 2015
HOLLYWOOD ? The lyrics tug at the heartstrings.
World eight-division boxing champion Manny Pacquiao revealed the composition of his song ?Lalaban Ako Para sa Pilipino? was inspired by his heartbreaking loss during the 2007 congressional election.
?Lalaban Ako Para sa Pilipino? will be Pacquiao?s grand entrance song when he fights undefeated American boxer Floyd Mayweather on May 2 in Las Vegas.
?I admit I was deeply hurt when I lost in the congressional race last 2007 election. My only intention then was to serve the people, no more no less. I offered myself in the altar of public service yet I was rejected,? Pacquiao recalled.
At first, Pacquiao said, he couldn?t accept his defeat. Moving on was even harder especially because he was not yet then a changed man.
In 2007, Pacquiao plunged into the rough-and-tumble world of politics without adequate preparation.
Relying primarily on a ragtag team made up mostly of friends and newfound political allies, he was doomed to fail.
Then touted as a mere political tot, Pacquiao was up against a political behemoth whose family controlled the local politics for two decades.
The fragmented opposition bloc was in search of an alternative candidate who can match the resources of the enemy.
Pacquiao had the resources but during those times he was no match against his opponent in terms of political machinery. Despite that, he bravely took the challenge.
His resources, noble intentions and ideal aspirations were not enough to offset his lack of a well-established political organization.
In the campaign trails, he tried to roll with the punches humbly swallowing all sorts of insults and name-callings from the opposite camps.
He lost. And it was by a wide margin.
He cried a river and tried to move on by traveling and writing a song.
With the help of respected Filipino songwriter and composer, Lito Camo, the lyrics of the song ?Lalaban Ako Para sa Pilipino? was put together. But it was not released to the public right away.
Every line has a profound meaning related in every respect to the life of Pacman.
It conveys his humble beginning, his ardent desire to serve the people through government service without expecting anything in return.
The song is an expression of Pacman?s inner self, his vision and mission as a boxer-politician.
Politics to him is a vocation ? not a means to enrich himself at the expense of others.
He has been serving and helping the people especially the poor long before he joined politics. While in politics, he never hesitates spending his own hard-earned money just to finish a project or help those in need.
In his life, as in a song, he emphasized that all men were created by God equal. Aspiring for public office is not a monopoly or a sole domain of the high and the mighty. This is the main essence of the song.
Right after his return from a US trip shortly after the 2007 election, he enrolled at the Notre Dame of Dadiangas University in General Santos City. He wanted to learn, he wanted to earn more knowledge.
He failed to finish his schooling primarily due to poverty not because his cranial disk is empty. That was before he became a boxing legend.
In elementary he was a consistent topnotcher. His college professors were even impressed by his high intelligence quotient (IQ).
While studying, he strengthened his own political party ? The People?s Champ Movement (PCM).
He transferred to Sarangani Province where he mesmerized the voters by his humility, sincerity, generosity and popularity.
In 2010 election, he made a phenomenal comeback by posting a lopsided win over a scion of a billionaire politician in a congressional race.
In 2013 election, he was unopposed in his reelection bid and succeeded in helping his party mate unseat a formidable opponent who beat him in 2007 congressional election. His victory was complete but his mission has just started.
Once again, he?s facing another formidable opponent not in politics but in the realm of boxing. But, he?s coming into this fight oozing with confidence.
With the whole Filipino nation behind him and with God beside him, the word ? defeat ? seems Greek to him.
Nevertheless, win or loss, the result of the May 2 historic fight would no longer define him as a person.
He?s defined not by what he had achieved in life or by who he had conquered in boxing. He?s defined by the strength of his faith and what he has done to glorify God.
Photo: Sarangani Congressman Manny and his wife Vice Gov. Jinkee Pacquiao.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Aquiles Z. Zonio.
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