Pacman fight free in Manila

Manila residents will no longer have to pay P500 cinema ticket to watch their idol Manny Pacquiao’s bout with Mexican boxer Erik Morales on Sunday after the city government yesterday announced it would show for free the live screening of the fight in three venues.

Manila Sports Council (Masco) chairman Arnold "Ali" Atienza said they would be distributing 20,000 free tickets to the "Pacquiao vs. Morales III: The Grand Finale" and set up big screens in three venues — San Andres Sports Complex and Civic Center which can accommodate between 4,000 to 5,000 viewers, and the Ninoy Aquino Stadium and Rizal Coliseum each with an 8,000 capacity.

"We would equally divide the 20,000 tickets to the barangay chairmen, who would take charge in distributing the tickets to their constituents. But since we cannot accommodate all the Manileños, we would instruct the barangay officials to prioritize their poor constituents or those who have no television sets in their homes, so they would have the opportunity to watch the fight live," said Atienza.

He assured that the tickets would not be limited to 897 barangay chairmen, members of the barangay security groups, community leaders and volunteer watchers.

The People’s Champ latest boxing match would be made available through the facilities of Solar All Access.

The 12-round super featherweight bout will be shown live in the three selected venues without commercial breaks.

To avert confusion, Atienza said the policies of "no ticket, no entry" and "first come, first serve" would strictly be enforced at the gates.

Many Filipino families often camp in one house to watch the fight while others prefer to pay cinema tickets at shopping malls. SM Manila, which has allocated two of their cinemas for the Pacquiao-Morales fight, for instance sell the tickets from P402 to P502.

Pacquiao an adopted son of Manila and had given glory to the country is the idol of the masses, and many Filipinos have been inspired by his determination and success to aspire for a better life. Every time there is a Pacquiao fight, Manila turns into a virtual ghost town because majority of the Manilenos prefer to stay in doors and watch the fight blow-by-blow.

When he returns to the country, after winning a fight, the Manila City Hall treats him a motorcade and parades the champion in different parts of the city.