More fans thumb down Pacquiao venture into politics
By ROY MEDINA
abs-cbnNEWS.com
Manny Pacquiao may have declared that he will run for congressman of the first district of South Cotabato against incumbent Rep. Darlene Antonino-Custodio. His fans, both in and out of cyberspace, however, think he should just stay in the ring.
On Tuesday a letter urging the Filipino boxing champion not to throw his hat into the arena of politics is now circulating in General Santos City.
The letter, signed by 29 persons, also said that politics will destroy his boxing career.
The group said it decided to write the letter to Pacquiao because they were concerned that several groups were just using the boxing icon to serve their own interests.
Businessmen in the city, meanwhile, denied having a hand in the distribution of the letter.
While not objecting to Pacquiao’s decision to run, the General Santos City Chamber of Commerce and Industry advised the boxing champ to help residents as an ordinary citizen and not a public servant.
Pacquiao, on the other hand, doubted the sincerity of the petition paper, suspecting that his opponents were behind it.
General Santos Mayor Pedro Acharon, a supporter of Custodio, also washed his hands off the petition paper, saying that they can match whoever candidate the administration is fielding.
Custodio earlier said she welcomed Pacquiao’s decision to challenge her in the May 14 congressional elections.
“Malaya naman ang kada Pilipino na mag-prisinta sa sarili nila sa halalan sa kahit anong posisyon (All Filipinos are free to run for any electoral post),” Custodio said.
In cyberspace, his fans were one in saying that Pacquiao should just focus on his boxing career. Majority (91.3%) of the 6,473 fans who voted in the online poll at
www.mannypacquiao.ph as of February 15 said they are not in favor of seeing Pacquiao in politics.
Some (5.5%) said they do not care what happens to the "The Pacman" while only 3.2 % of the voters were in favor of transforming their ring idol into a politician.
The results of the Internet voting were similar to the opinion of some Metro Manila residents who took time to share their thoughts on Pacquiao's planned semi-shift to politics.
Majority of the 30 people who took time to answer the informal poll said Pacquiao would be better off fighting inside the ring than in the halls of Congress.
Students, meanwhile, said Pacquiao's educational attainment could still be questioned if he runs for Congress. Pacquiao did not finish high school but recently took the qualifying examination for a secondary degree along with brother and fellow boxer Bobby.
At the L&M boxing gym in Sampaloc, Manila where Pacquiao started his boxing career, some trainees said they want their idol to pursue a political career. Some, including those who first trained him, said Pacquiao should stay in boxing
PACMAN 4 CONGRESSMAN, Deal or no deal?
Originally Posted by Metz
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