Mayor shelves plan on Manny museum

A PLAN to build a museum in the South Road Properties (SRP) in honor of the boxing champ Manny Pacquiao is in deep freeze, for now.

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said the proposal is shelved because both he and Pacquiao, congressional candidates in the May 10 elections, have other priorities to
attend to.

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In their initial talks, he said, Pacquiao expressed interest in the proposed commercial venture. It was first raised after Pacquiao defeated Miguel Cotto last November.

Pacquiao dominated Joshua Clottey yesterday and held on to his World Boxing Organization welterweight belt.

But while Clottey took a beating, the police in the cities of Cebu and Talisay enjoyed an easier day than usual.

“Negative incident. So peaceful,” was how Cebu City Police Office Director Patrocinio Comendador Jr. described the hours when people stayed glued to their television or radio sets for the Pacquiao-Clottey fight.

The police took no chances, conducting random checkpoints.

(During Pacquiao’s last fight in November, against Miguel Cotto, one jeepney robbery in Cebu City marred the day.)

But yesterday, the Theft and Robbery Section and the Homicide Section received no alarms.

In Talisay, Police Chief Supt. Henry Biñas said the city was peaceful, including pay-per-view areas where crowds gathered for the fight.

He fielded police and “force multipliers” in areas where pay-per-view telecasts of the fight were shown.

Asked what he thought of the fight, Osmeña, an avowed Pacquiao fan, said he almost fell asleep.

Still, Osmeña congratulated Pacquiao and his camp for the victory. He has no plans yet to invite the champ to Cebu soon.

“Dili pa karon kay busy kaayo ko, unya I know he will also be very busy with the campaign, so maybe after election na lang,” the mayor said.

Pacquiao is running for a congressional seat in Sarangani Province, after a failed first attempt in General Santos City in 2007. He belongs to the Nacionalista Party.

Though they are supporting different presidential aspirants in the May polls, the mayor said he is also hoping Pacquiao will win.

In a previous interview, Osmeña said that if he gets elected, one of his proposals will be to offer Pacquiao’s coach, Freddie Roach, Filipino citizenship.

He described Roach as the silent partner behind Pacquiao’s success. (ETB/JTG/JKV)