Boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, recently elected to the Philippine congress, has been heavily reported on by US news media recently, most notable of these the prestigious and well viewed 60 Minutes program on CBS. The ever smiling champion clearly charmed interviewer Bob Simon particularly when Pacquiao responded to the question as to who he believed was the best boxer of all time. “Including me?” asked Pacquiao. His answer that he believed he was the “one”, seemed uncharacteristic for the once outwardly humble Filipino, yet he seems to have a new air of self confidence, perhaps the result of his newly acquired political standing.
His self evaluation as the greatest of all time is definitely not an idle boast. Bob Arum, who has promoted many of Muhammad Ali’s championship bouts, made the same statement. “ He is a unique fighter, “ Arum explained. “Most fighters are ‘one-armed’ punchers. Pacquiao is different, he has power from both his left and right fists.”
And both fists are definitely going to be needed when he faces Antonio Margarito for the world’s super welterweight title November 13th in front of an expected 70,000 patrons at Jerry Jones’ Cowboy Stadium in Dallas, Texas. A win will give Pacquiao his eighth title adding to his already unprecedented seven world championship belts. And in the Philippines crime will take a brief holiday, insurrections will wait for another day, millions of tv sets will be on; taxis, jeepneys and calesas will be idled as all will watch with anticipation and glee the expected triumph of the one Filipino who seems to always put his money where his mouth is. Since he is descended from Cebuano ancestors we certainly expect a KULAS moment, kulas being the acronym for Kuyaw Ug Labok Ang
Sugbuanon.
Whether in victory or defeat Manny will be in the hearts of all Filipinos.
Manny was also big in the news both in Nevada and California for reasons other than his boxing career. He is now a congressman and seems to understand the value an endorsement has in winning voters over. So when ex-boxer Harry Reid, the beleaguered candidate for re-election in Nevada, called Manny for the help the latter graciously and happily did so. The Nevada race was a very close one and the Tea Party movement had made Reid a special target for defeat. Swinging a few thousand Filipino American voters to Reid’s column certainly helped the current majority leader win re-election. Reid is an important figure in Washington and having him on our side is truly beneficial for Philippine interests. Good work, Manny.
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The recent US midterm elections saw the unseating of the Democrats and the stunning, though expected, triumph of the Tea Party-energized Republicans. It also saw the election or re-election of more than 2 dozen Filipino-Americans to various positions around the country, most notably the confirmation by voters of the appointment of Tani Santil Sakauye as chief justice of the California Supreme Court. She is a descendant of Filipino migrant workers and now occupies the highest ever position attained by a Filipino American in the US mainland.
Hawaii, the state that gave us Ben Cayetano, the first ever American of Filipino descent elected governor of a US state, again led the field in number of Fil-Am candidates elected. A post election controversy, however, seems to have surfaced. It seems that supporters of Lynn Berbano Finnegan, the candidate for lieutenant governor as the running mate for Duke Aiona, are upset that many Filipino Hawaiians voted for the other ticket headed by Neil Abercrombie, the eventual winner. The Aiona-Finnegan partisans seemed to have expected that voters of Filipino descent should support candidates based on their ethnicity and I have a problem with this attitude.
Politicians and candidates of Filipino descent ought to be evaluated and voted on based on their qualifications and programs of government. In a state like Hawaii, candidates need to pull together a broad coalition that has appeal to the general voting public regardless their ethnicity. I remember back in the 1970’s many Filipino-Americans were complaining that it was difficult to get a Filipino-American elected because the Japanese-Americans as well as the Chinese-American community were larger then and usually voted as a block for candidates of their ethnic group regardless the qualifications of other candidates. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, so to speak, the Finnegan supporters seem to want to do exactly what we opposed in the ‘70’s i.e. vote only based on one’s ethnic identity. There have been many successful Filipino-American candidates in Hawaii, most notably Ben Cayetano. And their road to success was made possible because they appealed to voters across ethnic groups. It is well and good to vote for a fellow Filipino American, yet the obligation to vote for the most qualified cannot be shelved aside for ethnicity’s sake.
ldq@aol.com
