President Manny Pacquiao

By Alex P. Vidal

 

“The presidency has many problems, but boredom is the least of them.”— Richard M. Nixon

IT appears only Sara Duterte-Carpio is standing in the way of Emmanuel Pacquiao’s ascension to the Malacanang Palace in 2022.

Vice versa.

With due respect to the pro-democracy 1Sambayan coalition led by former Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio, Duterte-Carpio and Pacquiao, both 42, are the rumored leading contenders for the presidency of the Philippines, although they have not yet officially declared their intentions to run.

When the fat lady sings third quarter of 2021–and when most Filipinos have been vaccinated hopefully—it will be the daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte and the eight-time world boxing champion, who once graced the cover story of Time magazine as a sports icon-cum-philanthropist, and the 1Sambayan coalition bet who will slug it out for next year’s presidential derby.

A three-cornered fight isn’t far-fetched despite the efforts of 1Sambayan to unite all the contenders versus President Duterte’s choice.

At this early, Pacquiao has been in the receiving end of all the howitzers and scud missiles being unloaded by the Duterte camp.

Interestingly, some of the heavy blows against Pacquiao came from the social media flamethrowers who have been praising President Duterte like a demigod these past years, bolstering suspicions they may have the imprimatur of the Duterte camp.

 

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Like a true pugilist, Pacquiao absorbed the attacks by the Duterte camp flamethrowers without engaging them in a toe-to-toe slugfest.

Not yet.

It’s too early to empty his revolver as the bout is still in the warm-up stage or in the “acquaintance party” level.

Like in the sports field where Pacquiao had soared to stardom, politics isn’t decided merely in three or five rounds; sometimes it also moves to 12 rounds or the full route.

The main objective, meanwhile, is probably to soften Pacquiao’s breadbasket with light punishments and see if he will quit.

If he is undaunted and remains to be a strong contender for the highest position of the land, the flamethrowers might go for a kill ala Juan Manuel Marquez in the latter’s fourth duel with Pacquiao, where the Mexican dynamo scored a smashing one-punch KO victory.

But before it will happen, Pacquiao should be wise enough to parry the flamethrowers’ brutal assaults and unleash his own artillery during the no-holds-barred fisticuffs in the campaign period.

He can’t afford to remain a gentleman in the arena of mudslinging.

If boxing is brutality personified, politics is the higher level of brutality: it will smash his dignity into pieces especially if he isn’t made of sterner stuff.

When it comes to credibility but not necessarily competence, Pacquiao arguably holds the edge over Duterte-Carpio.

Forget the rumor that Bong Go, Pacquiao’s colleague in the Senate, will also run for president, as disclosed by President Duterte himself.

If we are not familiar with Mr. Duterte’s politics and style, we will believe it. Go is a joke, of course.

Only a hypocrite president father will not admit that he also wants her daughter to be the next president.

 

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FILTER IT AWAY. The human body requires at least one gallon of water a day.

If we are considering stocking up on emergency supplies, let’s bear in mind that plastic bottles are thought to leach chemicals into the water if left for a length of time.

Let’s save space and the environment by stocking up on water filters instead.

WELCOME THE WIND. Many products can cause air pollution to build up in our home, including modern cleaners, which contain strong chemicals.

Let’s make sure to ventilate our home well, ensuring a through-flow of air to help reduce pollution levels and encourage good ventilation.

ATOMS CANNOT BE SEEN. To show that the world was made of particles a million times smaller than objects visible to the naked eye was so difficult that their existence was not established beyond reasonable doubt until the end of the nineteenth century.

EMPTY CUP. Each day is full of reasons to praise God, even when life seems empty of comfort or joy.

It’s when our cups are empty that God fills them up. My cup was empty yesterday but this morning, it was filled up.

 

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)