By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS
TWO days after boxing icon Manny Pacquiao rebuked same sex couples as worse than animals, shoe giant Nike dropped him as endorser.
That was fast.
Observers said that was an easy decision for Nike because Pacquiao, 37, is at the sunset of his career after losing in two major fights: the one against Floyd Mayweather in May 2015 and earlier, in December 2013, to Juan Manuel Marquez. He says his April 9 fight with Timothy Bradley would be his last, although he has said it before with his other fights and went on to do more.
Nike’s announcement: “We find Manny Pacquiao’s comments abhorrent. Nike strongly opposes discrimination of any kind and has a long history of supporting and standing up for the rights of the LGBT community. We no longer have a relationship with Manny Pacquiao.”
It’s a knockout punch for Pacquiao whose endorsements make up the bulk of his boxing earnings. His camp is worried, we are told, that other sponsors might follow Nike.
Although Pacquiao, a senatorial candidate under the United Nationalist Alliance, said he remains against same-sex marriage despite his apology, he must be regretting what he told News5 last Monday. It was a standard question asked of every candidate running for a national position.
Pacquiao said: “As Christian, bawal naman ‘yung same-sex marriage. Ginawa ang babae para sa lalaki, ginawa ang lalaki para sa babae.Kasi para sa akin ito lang, common sense lang. Makakita ka ba ng any animals na lalaki sa lalaki o babae sa babae? Mas mabuti pa ‘yung hayop. Marunong kumikilala, kung lalaki o lalaki, babae, babae. Ngayon kung lalaki sa lalaki, babae sa babae, mas masahol pa sa hayop ang tao.”
The reactions from the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community and their supporters were swift and emotional. Prominent gay celebrities like Vice Ganda and Boy Abunda issued statements that matched Pacquiao’s acidic quotes.
Abunda said “Sino ka para manghusga? Saan ka kumuha ng kapangyarihan para tawagin kami na mas masahol pa kaysa sa mga hayop?”
Abunda and Vice Ganda said they are not voting for Pacquiao for the Senate. Abunda threw back to the boxer his “common sense” punch line: “Palagay mo ba iboboto ko ang isang tao na ang tingin sa akin ay hindi isang tao? Iboboto ko ba ang isang tao na ang tingin sa akin ay mas masahol pa sa hayop?”
Why, if Pacquiao didn’t malign the LGBTs, Abunda and Vice Ganda were considering voting for him for senator?
This controversy over Paquiao’s “abhorrent” comments, to borrow from Nike, might yet turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
Pacquiao is considered a sure winner for senator in the May elections. All surveys put him within the Magic 12 even when he is not campaigning so much because he is busy preparing for his April fight with Bradley.
It is expected that voters will send him to the Senate despite the fact that his performance as congressman was dismal. He was a perennial absentee in Congress. In 2014, he only attended, four as in 1,2,3,4 sessions. A Philippine Star report said he has filed about a dozen bills but none has passed any of the committees they have been referred to, the first hurdle in the legislative mill.
Yet he collects all the emoluments due a member of Congress which runs into millions of pesos without giving the taxpayers the service due them. That is theft.
Pacquaio went into politics with a distorted sense of public service. In an interview with him in 2010 when he was running for Saranggani congressman, I asked him why he had to be a congressman to help the people when he was already doing it without being in government.
He replied: “Pera ko ang ginagastos ko. Kawawa naman ang pamilya ko. Mauubos ang pera ko.”
A Feb. 14 post in his Facebook page showed rows of low-cost houses captioned: “I’m so happy giving this (sic) houses free to my constituents in Sarangani Province from my own pocket more than thousand families are the beneficiaries. And I’m still building more because i always believe what the Bible says; 1 Peter 4:8-10 NIV.”
Some maybe duped by this tale about Pacquaio’s generosity. But it’s not his personal money that was used to build the houses for his Saranggani constituents. It’s the Filipino people’s money that he collected as congressman without even working for it.
That way, he can continue to be “generous” at hindi mauubos ang pera niya.
If this controversy would make many people not vote for Pacquiao, then, we can only quote from Romans 11:33: “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!”
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