Pacquiao unites country

Pacquiao succeeded where politicians have failed and that is in uniting the country. The Filipinos were one when Pacquiao fought and the best thing that can be said is that the crime rate in the whole country went down to a record low. We want to take this occasion to congratulate his defeated opponent, Erik "El Terrible" Morales for being a very gracious loser. Our relations with Mexico go all the way back to the galleon trade and many of the fruits and plants we have originally came from Mexico. Classic example is the papaya and our Christmas plant, the poinsettia. We now call it poinsettia because a former American Ambassador Joel R. Poinsett to Mexico liked the plant so much that he introduced it in the United States where it became so popular that it got officially named after him. During Spanish times, Texas was part of Mexico and was officially known as Nuevas Filipinas.

To go back to Morales, it must be recalled that he defeated Pacquiao in their first bout and was a three-time world champion. He not only acknowledged his defeat but was full of praises for his Filipino opponent. He described Pacquiao as being a boxer with a lot of ambition and who wanted to win very much. "He was in great condition and was obviously fully prepared to fight me. It was a very tough intense fight. I think I had some good moments early, but I was getting very tired as the fight was going on in the later rounds. I have nothing but respect for Pacquiao, he’s a good person and he beat me. You won’t hear any excuses from me." Many of our politicians who have lost in an election could learn from Morales on how to accept defeat.

A hero’s welcome awaits Pacquiao when he arrives in Manila this Friday. Manila Mayor Lito Atienza has assured that Manila is preparing a fitting welcome. This means another ticker-tape parade through the most populous parts of the metropolis. It definitely will exceed the previous welcome he got.

And it is not only Manila, the House of Representatives is giving Pacquiao the highest commendations with three resolutions separately filed by Representatives Eduardo Gullas of Cebu, Juan Miguel Zubiri of Bukidnon and Darlene Antonino Custodio of South Cotabato which is in the boundary of General Santos City, Pacquiao’s hometown.

We believe in having a great welcome for Pacquiao. He definitely deserves it. But we also believe that Malacañang should not go overboard by following a suggestion that his homecoming be declared an official non-working holiday. That would be counter-productive. We will celebrate his homecoming but the whole nation does not have to abstain from work. On the contrary, we must work as hard as Pacquiao.