Boxing hero Manny Pacquiao may have won in the recent Philippine elections, but the challenges he faces as a politician are more formidable than any ring opponent.
The world champion made many campaign promises to the people of the impoverished southern province of Sarangani to get elected as their representative in the nation’s Congress. And they expect him to deliver.
“He said whether he wins or loses, he will build a hospital for Sarangani,” said Michelle Bargo, 25, a housewife, recalling one of Pacquiao’s promises.
PHOTO: AFP
That commitment is widely remembered in the province where the population of more than 400,000 do not have a single hospital to serve them.
Pacquiao, 31, said repeatedly during the campaign his priorities as congressman would be “livelihood programs, education, healthcare and medical assistance,” although he did not give too many details.
Schools and infrastructure, as well as medical facilities, are all in short supply in the 14,500km2 province where more than half the population live in poverty, according to government figures.
Even in Alabel, the provincial capital, many streets are just dirt roads and many houses are made largely of thatch.
Promises for a better life helped propel Pacquiao to a landslide victory over Roy Chiongbian, a member of a powerful clan that ruled Sarangani for decades, in the May 10 national elections.
It was also vindication for the boxer who lost an earlier bid for the congressional seat of nearby General Santos City in 2007.
“A lot of people are underestimating my capability to serve the people. I want to show them they are all wrong,” he said in a recent interview with ABS-CBN television.
He insisted he could perform his duties as a congressman even while pursuing his boxing career — possibly even facing undefeated US boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr in a long-awaited match in November, a prospect that appeared to move a step closer on Saturday when Pacquiao said his mother had given the bout the go-ahead.
Pacquiao, who grew up dirt-poor in General Santos, has said that his humble beginnings make him more sympathetic to the needs of the people of Sarangani.
However, it was his fabulous earnings from boxing prizes, commercial endorsements and showbiz appearances that allowed him to spend freely to seal his election victory.
Pacquiao, who was listed by Forbes magazine last year as the world’s sixth-highest paid athlete with earnings of US$40 million, won wide support in Sarangani by simply giving people gifts and handouts.
Malapatan Mayor Alfonso Singcoy, 53, said he was a Chiongbian loyalist for 15 years, but he switched to Pacquiao’s side after the boxer got him the fire truck he asked for.
“I thought it was a joke, but one month later, he called up and said ‘buddy, come down and pick up your fire truck’ and there it was,” Singcoy said.
Newly built gymnasiums, potable water, electricity in churches and mosques, scholarships for students and funerals for the deceased, all came courtesy of candidate Pacquiao, the mayor said.
Pacquiao’s “People’s Champ Movement” also provided campaign funds to many officials running for re-election, Singcoy and other officials said.
“You have to spend to win and Pacquiao can spend because he has money,” said Father Art Pancho, the parish vicar for Alabel.
Despite his free-spending ways, Pancho believes Pacquiao is sincere in his efforts to help the poor.
Pancho recalled that when he served in General Santos in the 1990s, a very humble Pacquiao would sponsor Catholic masses before and after each fight.
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