PACQUIAO PAYS COURTESY CALL ON NOYNOY AQUINO
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 19 May 2010
Congressman-elect Manny Pacquiao paid a courtesy call on Senator Noynoy Aquino on Tuesday night at the Aquino residence on Times Square.
Pacquiao was accompanied by his wife Jinkee and members of his entourage during the call on Aquino who is leading in the race for the presidency by a wide margin.
Among those who accompanied Pacquiao were lawyer Franklin ?Jeng? Gacal, Eric Pineda, Jake Joson and former Manila congressman Miles Roces, a son-in-law of former Manila Mayor Lito Atienza who was a fixture during welcome motorcades for Pacquiao.
During their meeting Pacquiao expressed his support for Aquino who is regarded by all accounts as as the incoming president.
A member of Team Pacquiao, Eric Pineda, told us that Pacquiao?s wife Jinkee and Aquino?s sister Kris are close friends and ?even text-mates? and that it would be wrong to underestimate the power of a woman.
According to an Aquino spokesman the two discussed the situation in Sarangani province where Pacquiao won the lone congressional seat in a stunning landslide over the wealthy and entrenched Chiongbian family whose candidate was 61 year old Roy Chiongbian.
It was Pacquiao who requested for the meeting with Aquino which lasted less than an hour.
Political observers pointed out that for several years Pacquiao had stood by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who, in turn, supported Pacquiao even before he became a boxing superstar. However, Pacquiao bolted the administration party and supported Nacionalista Party candidate Manny Villar in the last elections, endorsing him at big rallies and supporting his candidacy in a paid political ad which took a swipe at Aquino claiming that he was always fighting but had not achieved anything.
It prompted a response from feisty Kris Aquino who stated that her brother had never lost in an election while Pacquiao had suffered defeats in the ring.
Senator Aquino reportedly granted Pacquiao?s request for a courtesy call as a gesture of politeness.
Joson who was at the meeting stressed that Pacquiao ?never abandoned President Arroyo? and that he has always advocated ?unity during his fights and asked the people to get together and set aside their differences.?
Joson said the meeting with Aquino was in keeping with Pacquiao?s call to support the president no matter who he is, in the quest for national unity.
Meantime, a leading congressman and former Justice Secretary Simeon Datumanong has called on Pacquiao?s legal team to review a provision in the Constitution which states that government officials must refrain from practicing their profession which means that while serving in Congress, Pacquiao may violate the law should he continue to fight because boxing is his profession.
Datumanong made the statement according to NBN sports show host Snow Badua in order to ?prevent any inconvenience? in the future. According to Badua, Datumong admitted that he too is keen to see Pacquiao fight Floyd Mayweather Jr.
People at the Philippine Airlines Centennial Terminal who were there when Pacquiao arrived from his hometown of General Santos City on Tuesday said that while he normally had a large crowd of people around him most of the time, now it appeared that Pacquiao?s entourage appeared to have doubled.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Nagoya Nightmare: Naoya Inoue Notches One-Sided Decision over Murodjon Akhmadaliev
Mon, 15 Sep 2025Inoue’s Philippine Connection: Which Pinoy Super Bantamweight Could Challenge “The Monster?”
By Carlos Costa, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Yoseline Perez Advances to the Finals at the World Boxing Championships Perez Set to Face Chinese Taipei’s Hsiao-Wen Huang for 54-Kilogram World Title
Mon, 15 Sep 2025Canelo Gets Outboxed, Loses Undisputed Title to Crawford
By Carlos Costa, Sun, 14 Sep 2025A Masterpiece of Boxing: Terence Crawford Dethrones Canelo Alvarez in Historic Showdown
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025LEWIS CROCKER IS CROWNED THE NEW IBF WORLD WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION
Sun, 14 Sep 2025Battle of Undefeated: Callum Walsh Vanquishes Fernando Vargas Jr.
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Undercard Inferno: Mbilli and Martinez Deliver a Super Middleweight War Ending in a Thrilling Draw
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Crawford to defy odds?
By Joaquin Henson, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Clash of Titans: The Final Predictions for Canelo Álvarez vs. Terence Crawford
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Weigh-In Results: Naoya Inoue vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev
Sun, 14 Sep 2025Inoue and Akhmadaliev Make Weight for Sunday's Battle, Watch it LIVE on Facebook!
By Carlos Costa, Sun, 14 Sep 2025IIEE North Cotabato and Metro Central are the Golden Champion on 3x3 Basketball and 3x3 Chess
By Marlon Bernardino, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Sydney Sy Tancontian is Female Awardee of Sports Hero of the Year
By Lito delos Reyes, Sat, 13 Sep 2025Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford: Size Matters
By Chris Carlson, Sat, 13 Sep 2025