Manny Pacquiao: Hero or villain?

MANILA, Philippines - My seven-year-old son Remus seems to be a bigger fan of Manny Pacquiao than I am.

Once, probably after seeing Manny’s gin advertisement, Remus asked me, “Dad, can someone who drinks alcohol be like Manny Pacquiao?”

I told him, “Son, Manny Pacquiao is just like any other person in the world. He’s got talent and that talent brought him fame.”

He answered, “Like Venom!” Venom is a character in Spiderman. Unlike other villains, Venom’s evil intentions are hard to distinguish. He may appear harmless at first before his evil intentions become known.”

I wondered why Remus compared Manny to Venom. Perhaps it’s because he looks up to Manny but wonders why he’s promoting alcoholic drinks.

In other countries, politicians, boxers, and other athletes are well-respected people careful about the images they project. Michael Jordan, for instance, only endorses products generally perceived as good.

Remus knows Manny is no superhero. As a kid, he knows his hero does not possess superpowers to fight galactic crimes.

Remus is aware his idol’s fists could not match Batman’s, or Superman’s, or even Wapakman’s.

Still, Remus looks up to Manny as the best fighter in the world, having watched Pacman knock down seven superpower individuals, big names in boxing, in the last few years.

Manny’s achievements, inside and outside the boxing ring, are indeed laudable and are worth 12 rounds of applause.

No wonder Anak TV, Inc. picked Manny as their endorser. Anak TV, Inc. (formerly Southeast Asian Foundation for Children and Television), is a Philippine advocacy for child-friendly and family-friendly television.

Still, the question remains: Why is Manny not selective of the products he endorses?

Will Manny make a good Anak TV endorser when he promotes products that are not family-friendly?

It also seems ironic that not-so-child-friendly commercials are shown during the breaks of supposedly family-friendly and Anak TV-approved shows.

In the 1996 movie Jerry Maguire, Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding Jr. were well-remembered for uttering the now famous line: “Show me the money!”

An idiom, “show me the money” has two meanings: Either that a person wants to know how much he or she will be paid, or that a person wants to know if something is worth spending on.

As Filipino boxer and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao continues to gain fame in the international boxing arena and rakes in millions of dollars, the phrase “show me the money” could evolve into “show me the Manny.”

In fact, in 2009, Manny starred in the comedy sitcom, Show me da Manny, with Marian Rivera, Lovi Poe, Benjie Paras, and his mother Dionesia “Pacmom” Pacquiao, among others.

Manny, whom some people have started calling “Money” Pacquiao, is as hot as “mami” or “goto” when it comes to endorsements. His face is everywhere — billboards, television, magazines, newspapers and the Internet.

Mami (hot noodle soup) and goto (hot porridge) are popular with the public or the masa. Just like mami or goto, Manny is hugely popular with the masa, too.

Mami and goto are simple, ordinary food. Just like mami or goto, Manny, whom some have already started calling “Money Pacquiao,” had simple and ordinary roots. Before he became famous, he led a simple life back in his hometown, General Santos City.

Manny completed his elementary education in General Santos City but dropped out of high school due to extreme poverty.

At 14, he left home because his mother, who had six children, was not making enough money to support them.

Manny moved to Manila and lived, for a time, on the streets. In 1995, at 16, Manny began to pursue boxing and the rest is history.

We see Manny, the “People’s Champ,” wherever we go. In a huge billboard along EDSA, one of Manny’s ads for a pain reliever says, Aray ko, Galing ko.

He also has huge ads for a popular brand of footwear and sportswear.

On TV, he has ads for a gin, a sports drink, a deodorant, and more. He also has print ads for a camera brand, among others.

For advertisers, “Manny” translates to “money.”

Advertisers have to shell out millions to get Manny to endorse their products. Still, they continue to go after him.

How much money does Manny make?

Tupac Shakur once said, “Go make the money; don’t make the money make you.”

Does Tupac’s advice apply to him? “Manny, go make the money; don’t make the money make you.”

Once, eating goto at a mami and goto canteen near our house, I overheard people talking about Manny and wondering how much money he makes.

They laughed loudly at the canteen’s banner, which reads: Mami Pakyaw vs. Miguel Goto. Served hot.

I thought, this canteen owner is smart. He invested in the popularity of Manny, knowing that he is bound to catch people’s attention with the words “Mami Pakyaw” (Manny Pacquiao) and Miguel Goto (a play on the name of one of Manny’s former opponents, Miguel Cotto).

Seeing the reaction of the people to the Mami Pakyaw banner, I decided to ask my Twitter friends what they thought of Manny Pacquiao’s product endorsements.

Some of the responses I received reflected the good, the bad, and the ugly about the People’s Champ.

@thon_kage says “Pacman’s rise to fame perhaps, since he’d become an icon, many brands are aiming for his signature…”

@tsiina thought “Pacman looks like a walking ‘fighting advertisement’ and hopes that he would stop wearing them every time he fights.”

@ianrodriguez says: “Pag nagkaanumalya or problem yung mga products na yun, as a Congressman, kahihiyan nya yun!”(Since he is a public servant, his credibility is at stake if a product turns out to be a sham.)

I wonder, is Manny a true hero or a villain? I sincerely hope that he will show himself a true hero before it’s too late. It is not just in the boxing ring where we will hear Round 1, Round 2, Round 3… before we are declared as winner or loser by TKO (technical knockout).

Manny’s advertisements sometimes confuse me. When I saw him laughing at a beer commercial, I thought, “Should I laugh with my son’s hero?”

I became even more confused when I saw Manny’s mother in his beer commercial. Mothers are supposed to know best. In the ad, Manny’s mother is seen serving appetizers to Manny and his friends. I wonder if that promotes good family ideals.

Are they heroes or villains?

Manny has brought fame and glory to the country. How I hope that advertisers would give him the respect he deserves.

Actors can take on different roles. If an actor decides to take on the role of a villain, it does not mean that he is a villain in real life.

However, the situation is different for Manny, not only because he is considered a hero but also because he is now a lawmaker.

Every person has ups and downs in life. Manny, it seems, has more ups than downs. He has been successful in almost all of his endeavors, except perhaps in producing movies.

Manny heads MP Productions which has produced movies such as Anak ng Kumander and Wapakman,” both of which were box-office flops.

Still, Manny did not have to go through so much to become an actor, scriptwriter (he is billed as the writer of Anak ng Kumander), and movie producer.

While most have to go through stringent series of auditions before they land an acting job, it wasn’t like that for Manny.

I am also a writer. I have to write a script first, look for a producer and hunt for actors.

It is a whole different ballgame for someone as famous as Manny. He breezes through different endeavors — boxing, acting, singing, movie-producing — with ease.

While his films did not make much in the box office, these endeavors will not make much of a dent to his finances.

Pacman is a hit, whether he is a real hero or a villain.