Friday, March 07, 2008 Wenceslao: Magsaysay vs. Pacquiao By Bong O. Wenceslao Candid Thoughts
FORMER president Ramon Magsaysay was the original “man of the masses.” When he died in a plane crash on the slopes of Balamban's Mt. Manunggal on March 17, 1957, his popularity turned legendary. Balamban named the barangay where Manunggal is as Magsaysay. An annual climb was organized to coincide with the anniversary of his death.
The climb this year is scheduled for next weekend. Ironically, the most popular Pinoy of this generation, Manny Pacquiao, will fight Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez on March 16 (March 15 in Las Vegas, Nevada). Climbers and campers will therefore have to balance their schedules or let go of either Mt. Manunggal or Pacquiao's fight altogether.
This is not the first time Pacman's scheduled fight ran smack into the climb. Some campers hastily folded their tents early morning of March 19, 2005 to be able to catch up with the TV coverage in Cebu City of Pacquiao’s first fight with Mexican Erik Morales (that is, if my recollection of the dates is correct). Pacquiao lost in the first of a trilogy.
I joined the Manunggal climb in the mid-'90s and have been at it without fail since then. Frankly, I toyed with the idea of not doing the ritual this year because I don't want to miss the Pacquiao-Marquez match, more so because of the soaring price of the pay-per-view coverage offered by Solar Sports in tandem with satellite TV provider, Dream.
Before ABS-CBN and SkyCable temporarily took over the coverage of Pacquiao fights years ago, Dream's pay-per-view fee was P300. When Solar Sports got back the rights to the coverage (eventually tying up with TV network GMA), Dream's pay-per-view price shot up to P500. It has soared to P890 (P690 special promo) for this match.
This is probably because the cost of getting the Philippine coverage rights to Pacquiao's fights has also become prohibitive. Of course, there's free live coverage on radio but it leaves much to your imagination. And there’s free TV coverage described derisively as a “cavalcade of commercials” interrupted by a round of Pacquiao fight.
Anyway, Superbalita sports editor Jun Migallen, who is from Balamban, seems bent on joining the Manunggal campers for the first time this year. His enthusiasm was so infectious I have decided to go ahead with the climb next week. When I reminded him about the Pacquiao fight, he ticked off alternatives, like watching the bout in Balamban.
But I prefer to find a way to reach our house early morning Sunday (live coverage of the bout starts at 8 a.m.). I always consider watching important sports events on TV with my wife, relatives and neighbors more satisfying. Like when we watched Pacquiao-Morales II and ended up shouting ourselves hoarse when El Terrible got knocked down.
So this should not necessarily be a Magsaysay vs. Pacquiao event. Pacman fans who are also climbing or camping enthusiasts can still join the Manunggal trek and then watch the coverage of the Pacquiao-Marquez fight later. I reckon that some trekkers will be at the camp site as early as March 14. Let us all challenge our resolve in the climb again and pay homage to “My Guy,” one of the well-loved presidents of this country.
