Pacquiao?s Allies cry foul over Parkinson?s
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 06 Jan 2013
MANILA (PNA) - Bad. Premature. Unfair. And to say the least, unethical.
These, in a nutshell were the immediate reactions of Manny Pacquiao?s closest allies on opinions expressed by a pair of Filipino physicians and carried by media outfits that the ?Pambansang Kamao? showed signs of Parkinson?s disease.
?Hindi maganda (bad),? exclaimed Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis ?Chavit? Singson on making public opinions made ?without basis? by Filipino neurologist Rustico Jimenez and Dr.Racquel Fortun, a forensic pathologist, that the eight-division world champion could be on the way to meet the same fate suffered by boxing great Muhammad Ali and Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, among others.
?The two famous physicians might have only expressed their opinions, as they themselves admitted. What is bad though is that media is blowing the reports out of proportion, which, wittingly or unwittingly could destroy a man?s life ,? Singson told People?s in a telephone interview from Vigan.
?What hurts is the reports emanated here in our country and picked up by the foreign media, including the websites,? Singson, one of Paqcuiao?s faithful pals and advisers, lamented in Tagalog. ?Sana naman hindi muna inilabas, total hindi pa naman opisyal at wala isa sa dalawang doktor ang nagkaroon ng pagkakataon na ma-examine si Manny.?
?Now speculations are running high. Kesyo na-suspende na raw si Manny and worse, baka daw hindi na bigyan ng lisensya na lumaban sa U.S.,? he bewailed. ?Look what that irresponsible reporting is doing to Manny, who many of us Filipinos consider as national treasure??
?Manny?s suspension, to remind everybody, was meted (by the Nevada Athletic Commission) out only as a precautionary measure and not to eventually to stop him from pursuing his means of livelihood, the Ilocos Sur chief executive said. ?
For Rex ?Wakee? Salud, another Pacquiao adviser, the news came rather prematurely as there has not been any official reports from the experts to that effect.
?Truth is, Manny had undergone immediate tests at least twice after his knockout loss to (Juan Manuel Marquez and both produced negative results,? Salud said in a separate telephone interview from home base Cebu City.
?Okay, Manny, probably, needs further examinations to really determine kung safe na nga siya. No question about that, ?he remarked. ? They should have waited for the results of that before coming out with such a damaging stories, which Manny doesn?t deserve at all considering his status in the field of boxing and public servant.?
?Marami na siyang nagawa di lamang sa sarili niya kundi para sa bayan at sa salitang Pilipino. Dapat naman sana irespeto natin yung mga nagawa niya,? Salud noted. ?Now that the man is down, niyayapakan pa natin. Ganun na ba tayo kasama??
Salud said he was with Pacquiao right after his KO defeat and in the boxer?s flight to Manila and he never noticed anything wrong with his bosom friend.
Dr. Randy Molo, head of the Philippine Center of Sports Medicine of the Philippine Sports Commission, for his part, said the statements attributed to Dr. Jimenez and Dr. Fortun came in form of unethical behavior.
?For the record, I have high respects for both, but even if those statements came as a result of a thorough examinations, they should not have been aired in public because those will come in the form of privileged information between physicians and patients,? Dr. Molo quipped.
?Because opinion nga lamang, the more they should not have been made public without the consent of the patient, in this case Manny,? he said.
?Both physicians should have called Manny and told him, Mr. Champ, we noticed in your television interview that you were strutting and your hands were trembling, signs that you could be suffering from Parkinson?s, can we talk to you about our observations and the means to prevent serious implications?? Dr. Molo suggested.
?Kung anuman ang maging resulta ng usapan nila, dapat ding ipagpaalam nila kay Manny kung papayagang ihayag ito sa publiko,? Hindi kasi hindi naman ganun kadali mag-render ng opinion sa sakit ng tao. Makasisira ito sa moral ng kinauukulan.?
Pacquiao is quietly enjoying a long vacation in Israel with wife Jinkee and children and is expected to return home tomorrow.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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