Monday, April 16, 2007 Next time, ‘knock out poverty’
PRESIDENT Arroyo urged Filipinos to use Manny Pacquiao’s victory over Jorge Solis as an inspiration to battle poverty and other social ills.
Pacquiao, who struggled through the opening five rounds and a cut from a head butt in the sixth, stopped Solis with a powerful right hand in the eighth round Saturday night in San Antonio, Texas, delivering the Mexican slugger’s first loss in 35 fights.
“Manny stands for the dream of every Filipino in the ring of life and the arena of the future,” Arroyo said.
“We must keep up the fight and win in all fronts - in physical prowess, in the excellence of our skills, in the will to overcome the foes of poverty and injustice,” Arroyo said.
President Arroyo issued her statement from St. Luke’s Medical Center, where she has been watching over her husband who had a high-risk heart surgery last week.
Had Pacquiao lost, doctors said they would have kept the news from Arroyo’s husband - a key backer of the boxer - to avoid upsetting him.
Many candidates running in the May 14 congressional and local elections used the boxing match to campaign. A Manila mayoralty candidate set up large screens in slum areas to show the match for free to thousands of poor residents.
Pacquiao himself is running for a seat in the House of Representatives.
In General Santos City, Pacquiao’s mother, Dionisia, held a rosary and prayed before a statue of the Virgin Mary during the match. She wept when told that her son has won.
“I ask God to give strength to my son and happiness to all Filipinos,” she told reporters. “God heard my prayers.” (AP)
