PACQUIAO AND POLITICS (PART V)
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 11 Oct 2015
Congressman Manny Pacquiao was with Vice President Jejomar Binay when he and his partymates officially launched the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA). But he has distanced himself since then from VP Binay when the former Makati City Mayor faced several plunder charges on alleged city hall anomalies.
Pacquiao's first attempt at joining politics was in 2004, when he ran for the Congressional seat of the 1st district of South Cotabato which includes General Santos City. Pacquiao ran under the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (KAMPI) of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He was defeated by incumbent representative Darlene-Antonino Custodio of the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC).
Custodio garnered 139,061 votes to Pacquiao's 75,908 votes. "More than anything, I think, people weren't prepared to lose him as their boxing icon," said Custodio.
In the 2010 elections, Pacquiao transferred to Sarangani, the home province of his wife Jinkee. He formed the People's Champ Movement who had a coalition with the Nationalista Party of Senator Manny Villar.
He ran again for congressman against the well-established and wealthy Chongbian clan who formed the Sarangani Reconciliation and Reformation Organization (SARRO), closely affiliated with the Lakas-Christian and Muslim Democrats. Pacquiao won by a landslide victory and got 120,052 votes while his opponent for the seat, Roy Chiongbian, got 60,899 votes.
In 2013, Pacquiao moved to the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) under the UNA. He was reelected congressman unopposed as his wife Jinkee won as vice governor of Sarangani.
Celebrities who won as legislators especially senators were often lambasted by media and netizens, questioning their competence to enact laws and debate in the Philippine Legislature. But contrary to common perception, these showbiz personalities performed their duties and responsibilities of enacting bills into laws.
In 1987, Noli de Castro became host of "Magandang Gabi, Bayan" and anchorman of the news and public affairs hit, "TV Patrol". In January 1999 he became overall head of production of "TV Patrol" and vice president of dzMM.
In 2001, anchoring on his television popularity, de Castro successfully ran for senator as an independent candidate. He garnered more than 16 million votes the highest ever for a senator in the history of Philippine politics at that time.
But in spite of being a Senate neophyte, in his three years de Castro authored 252 bills and resolutions, 140 of which he principally authored. He authored the following significant laws: Alternative Dispute Resolution, Expanded Senior Citizens Act, Balikbayan Law, Quarantine Act and Newborn Screening Test Act.
He was later elected as Vice President in 2004 as a running mate of President Gloria-Macapagal Arroyo.
Banking on his popularity as a movie action hero with amulets or "anting-anting," Ramon Revilla, Sr. became a senator in 1992, holding office until the end of his two terms in 2004.
He was widely criticized by his detractors, but Senator Revilla Sr., was able to leave a legacy in the senate as the author of some important bills. But the most significant and most popular was the bill casually called the "Revilla Bill".
It was an amendment to the Family Code of the Philippines, which was enacted on February 2004, and it states: "The illegitimate children may use the surname of their father if their affiliation has been expressly recognized by the father through the record of birth appearing in the civil register, or when an admission in a public document or private handwritten instrument is made by the father."
"The child should not suffer the stigma of his illegitimacy," Revilla, Sr. was quoted. He was reported to have fathered 72 children from different women, however only 38 of his children are officially carrying his surname.
His son Senator Ramon Bong Revilla, Jr. got elected in 2004, and he pushed for the lowering of amusement taxes slapped on movies which paved the way for revival of the then struggling local film industry. In his first three years in the Upper House, he was the senator who has the most number of bills passed into law, according the official website of the Senate of the Philippines.
He passed his pet bill, the Mandatory Helmet Act, which obliged all motorcycle riders, including the backriders, to wear standard protective helmet to reduce the alarming motorcycle-related accidents in the country.
Another actor, Senator Jinggoy Estrada, former San Juan Mayor, was elected in 2004, being the son of former President Joseph Estrada. He introduced 289 bills and resolutions, 249 of which were primarily authored by him.
His current priority bills are geared towards improving and strengthening the policies affecting our workforce and overseas foreign workers, empowering our local government units, protecting and preserving our freedom of expression and assembly, and promotion of youth welfare. At present, he ranks fourth among the list of Senators with the most number of proposed legislations filed in the Upper House, according to senate.gov.ph.
He has actively participated in the deliberations on various measures during committee hearings and plenary sessions and delivered several privilege speeches.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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