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Manny Pacquiao enlivens Tuna Fest culmination



7 September 2008 246 views 9 Comments

The culmination of the 10th Tuna Festival in commemoration of the 40th Charterhood Anniversary of Gen. Santos City was made even more significant not only with the attendance of Senator Mar Roxas who was the Keynote Speaker but also of the participation of the city’s prized possession, WBC World Flyweight Boxing Champion Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao.

Congresswoman Darlene Custodio hands to Boxing Champ Manny Pacquiao the trophy and cash prize that they will together give out to the winners of the Tuna Float Competition on the culmination program for the 10th Tuna Fest at the oval plaza on September 5, 2008.  They are both flanked by Mayor Jun Acharon, Festival Director Bebot Haw (to the left) and Vice Mayor Flor Congson. (foto by Jing Velos)

Manny was warmly received by his former political foe and the only woman who gave him a knockout, Congresswoman Darlene Antonino-Custodio with his Wedding Ninong (godfather), GenSan Mayor Jun Acharon.

They seemed to be more comfortable with one each other onstage,  now that the boxing champ himself has clarified on national TV that, yes he is running for congress (again); and that no, he is not running in South Cotabato’s First District (up against Mayor Acharon, among others) but in Sarangani Province where he has been very visible lately.

The champ, smartly dressed in white long-sleeved shirt and black pants gave out the prizes for the winners of the Tuna Float Competition and gamely posed for pictures with what could have been the entire population of the oval plaza stage.  :)

Congresswoman Darlene Custodio (standing, extreme left) and Champ Manny Pacquiao in a photo with seven of the 10 Karagatan Awardees for 2008, at the oval plaza on September 5, 2008. (photo by Jing Velos)

That is one thing you should hand out to Manny Pacquiao.  He never says no when asked for a photo op and it’s usually his aides who tell his fans that GenSan’s hometown hero has to move on.

Nevertheless, his presence at the oval plaza stage that day together with the mayor and the congresswoman not only pleased his fans but including those people who earlier were turned off by his first foray into the dirty world of politics in 2007.

I hope Manny wakes up to the fact that he is at his best at unifying his country in his capacity as a private citizen and a Filipino champion.   By now, he should have awakened to the hard lessons he learned last year when his entry into the political arena divided the country and drove his millions of fans in disarray.

But Manny Pacquiao is Manny Pacquiao… and we can only say, Good luck Champ!



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9 Comments »

  • bing said:

    i better say,wag n rin tumakbo s lugar namin s Sarangani.

    Reply - Quote
    - 7 September 2008 at 9:51 pm
  • guiper said:

    correction please. he’s a lightweight not a flyweight champion.

    you hit the right button there in saying that manny is already at his best in unifyingh this country as a private citizen and a filipino champion. anything he do to help in his position as a private citizen tainted of any politik mud slinging. well up until now that he declared to run for public office in 2010, as a congressman. on what district was that?

    Sarangani? why another change of mind? from golden boy to top rank contract, from manila to gen san residency, from LP to Kampi Party……………………………………………. and now from 1st district south cotabato to lone district of sarangani. Well i can surmise some of the probable reasons(?)

    1. Maybe antoninos can never be beaten (?) in the political arena as of this time and paquiao has a phobia of being beaten in the last election. He’s scared of the AIM?
    2. Is it easy(?) to beat an old man (incumbent congressman chiongbian) sitting in the lone district of sarangani.
    3. why not run for mayor of gensan to fully serve (help in his words)your constituents. well same reason as no. 1 and lets accept the fact that nowadays being a congressman doesn’t not have the same level of responsibilities of a Local chief executive.
    4……….i’ll reserved this for later discussion.

    but i’m just a small grain of observer at in a political of an NFA warehouse…………..

    Reply - Quote
    - 8 September 2008 at 8:49 am
  • poch said:

    if pacquiao run and win…gensan will be much beautiful..coz he may use his monay for beautification of gensan BUT di lahat nadadaan sa pera nya… he may have the heart to serve but natatakot din ako sa mangyayari sa gensan if ever he wins in politics… HUHUHU…

    Reply - Quote
    - 8 September 2008 at 10:13 am
  • guiper said:

    Originally Posted By guipercorrection please. he’s a lightweight not a flyweight champion.

    you hit the right button there in saying that manny is already at his best in unifyingh this country as a private citizen and a filipino champion. anything he do to help in his position as a private citizen tainted of any politik mud slinging. well up until now that he declared to run for public office in 2010, as a congressman. on what district was that?

    Sarangani? why another change of mind? from golden boy to top rank contract, from manila to gen san residency, from LP to Kampi Party……………………………………………. and now from 1st district south cotabato to lone district of sarangani. Well i can surmise some of the probable reasons(?)

    1. Maybe antoninos can never be beaten (?) in the political arena as of this time and paquiao has a phobia of being beaten in the last election. He’s scared of the AIM?
    2. Is it easy(?) to beat an old man (incumbent congressman chiongbian) sitting in the lone district of sarangani.
    3. why not run for mayor of gensan to fully serve (help in his words)your constituents. well same reason as no. 1 and lets accept the fact that nowadays being a congressman doesn’t not have the same level of responsibilities of a Local chief executive.
    4……….i’ll reserved this for later discussion.

    but i’m just a small grain of observer in a political area of an NFA warehouse…………..

    Reply - Quote
    - 8 September 2008 at 1:13 pm
  • Gorg said:

    @poch -

    If Manny loves Gensan, he could have made it “beautiful” as you say, long before without entering into politics. He created a Foundation but in name only. They could not present a report even during the 2007 elections because there was no intent of really helping.

    You can help Gensan in so many ways - education, beautification, health etc. for as long as Manny’s heart is into it. He has all the means. Advisers could have been of help as well.

    I could not agree more with this article. Manny will just be wasted in politics.

    He should remain our hero. An dami na namang kikita pag tumakbo sya. Ibigay nya na lng sa mga taong nangangailangan. Hindi lang kapag nanalo sya at magbibigay ng grocery.

    Reply - Quote
    - 8 September 2008 at 5:13 pm
  • anonyMOOSE said:

    To Guiper

    Correction

    Chiongbian (you referred as old man is Erwin, the son of the late James C) is on his last term so definitely, he would not be running for congress again. okay? So Manny might be either running against Migs or another Chiongbian…two years more to go. mahaba pa ang panahon

    Reply - Quote
    - 8 September 2008 at 5:20 pm
  • guiper said:

    to anymoose,

    my mistake, thanks for the correction.

    MIGZ vs. pacman? that’s interesting………mmmmmmmm

    Reply - Quote
    - 9 September 2008 at 8:27 am
  • none_air said:

    Go! Pacman….lipat ako Sarangani to vote for u..hehehe

    Reply - Quote
    - 11 September 2008 at 4:12 pm
  • Cho said:

    i can’t believe I missed this! I should’ve stayed longer in GenSan! But even if my GenSan trip was brief, I have to give my heart-felt thanks to all those who made my trip there worthwhile and exciting! To Boo, Nelson and Kring Macion, Ate Nits of Arnevel Catering and Gladys of Family Country Hotel, thank you for taking such good care of us while we were there! To Chefs Gerry and Faith Arbis, and Chef Rose, thank you for your company. It was a pleasure judging the cooking competitions with you. To rest of the people whom I failed to mention here, and whose names I cannot remember anymore due to the overflowing beer and tuna being constantly offered to us, Maraming Salamat!!! We’ll see each other soon, hopefully in the next GenSan Tuna Festival!

    Reply - Quote
    - 11 September 2008 at 7:52 pm

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