What I know about Pacquiao’s eyes

By: Alex P. Vidal

“Boxing is a sport. We allow each other to hit each other, but I’m not treating my opponent like my enemy. We’re doing a job to entertain people.” – Manny Pacquiao

WE have no idea if the wishes of Iloilo Governor Arthur “Toto” Defensor Jr. that the proposed Panay-Guimaras-Negros bridge project be specifically mentioned by President Duterte during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 22 was fulfilled.

If the president did mention it, then it will be materialized as what Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar had been promising the Ilonggos even before Ferdinand Magellan was killed by Lapu Lapu.

If President Duterte did not mention it, Ilonggos will continue to pin their hopes on the press releases and, again, on the promises of politicians like Villar and other talkative minions in the Department of Budget and the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA).

Ilonggo governors and mayors in the provinces and cities that are part and parcel of the mega-million project are hopeful that the bridge’s construction will begin before the Star Wars and total eclipse, or before the Return of the Jedi.

 

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Cleaning up the streets with garbage should not be done only to destroy the breeding grounds of mosquitoes that carry dengue virus.

It should be carried on a regular basis as part of the overall cleanliness program, not only because we are being attacked by a deadly virus and our kids are being decimated.

If cleanliness is next to orderliness, an ounce of prevention is always better than a pound of cure.

We are always good in cure instead of prevention.

We react and implement drastic actions only after the crisis has rolled on, not before the crisis; never when everything seemed normal and nobody was rushed to the hospital and dying of certain diseases.

Even in elementary and high schools, we are trained to preserve and protect the natural resources and all the living things, clean our surroundings, and value our health and total well-being.

These education, training and discipline help prepare us to co-exist with the environment and promote the preservation of life.

 

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EXCLUSIVE: WBA welterweight champion Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao’s eyes bothered him so much after he scored a 12-round split decision win against Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas on March 15, 2008.

It was their rematch after their first duel ended in a split draw after 12 rounds also in Las Vegas on May 8, 2004.

Immediately after the fight, Pacquiao was whisked away from the dressing room and brought to his hotel room.

I was one of the more or less 10 people present inside the champion’s suite at the Mandalay Bay.

I was with the two doctors: Nasser Cruz of the Games and Amusement Board (GAB) and Allan Recto, a Texas-based Ilonggo pediatrician, who left his iPhone (I picked it up and turned it over to Dr. Recto in Los Angeles a week later).

I saw Pacquiao vomit. He was in pain.

They rushed him to a hospital that night, but this detail was never reported in the media.

The following morning at 6 o’clock, I and three other Manila-based sportswriters from the Manila Bulletin, The Philippine Star, and the Philippine Daily Inquirer, visited Pacquiao in his room. His face was a crimson.

Because of his condition, he was not allowed to fly to Manila where he was scheduled to be given a hero’s welcome by DENR Secretary and now party list Rep. Joselito “Lito” Atienza until a week later.

I suspect he didn’t look good again hours after whipping Keith Thurman; his eyes must have bothered him so much the reason why doctors didn’t allow him to fly on a private jet to Manila for President Duterte’s SONA on Monday.

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