BANGON Pilipinas standard bearer Bro. Eddie Villanueva asked the Filipinos to pray for boxing champion Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao as he defends his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown today, Sunday.
Dubbed as “The Event," Pacquiao is facing African boxer Joshua Clottey in boxing's debut at the $1.2-billion (P55.2-billion) Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“Pacman, as a world class athlete, has carved for himself a legacy of greatness in the boxing history for which all of us Filipinos should be proud of. Let us pray that he come out successful once more in defending one of his world titles,” said Villanueva.
The presidential aspirant is set to watch Pacquiao-Clottey fight for free via satellite at the Municipal Covered Court in his hometown, Bocaue, Bulacan.
For her part, Nacionalista Party vice presidential bet Senator Loren Legarda said Pacquiao should score a knock-out against the Ghanaian challenger.
“Like many Pinoys, I am extremely confident that Manny Pacquiao, given his sterling record, would win his bout with Joshua Clottey," Legarda stated.
“He has done a lot for the country by inspiring all of us and making us proud. I wish him all the best. Knock him out, Manny,” she added.
Political ads
But Villanueva on Saturday also called on fellow politicians to spare the viewing public from a barrage of political advertisements.
In a statement circulated to media, Villanueva said the politicians should not abuse the expected high viewership ratings on Pacquiao-Clottey match.
“I was told that many candidates paid millions of pesos worth of airtime for their commercials to be aired in the Pacman-Clottey fight. Kasi nga naman sigurado ang viewership. Pero para sa mga kababayan natin na gusto lang naman sumuporta sa ating Pambansang Kamao, hindi makatarungan na pagtiisin silang panoorin ang mga patalastas ng mga pulitiko. They don’t deserve to get bombard with political ads that spoil the fun and souse the excitement out of the game,” Villanueva said.
He added that the minimum ad placement in the Pacquiao-Clottey fight allegedly costs P2 million, inclusive of replays and cable exposure.
“Tomorrow, I suggest our viewers do not only count the number of Pacman punches that would land in Clottey’s face; I suggest they also count the number of spots candidates have placed in the television coverage. That would be really interesting,” Villanueva said.
The P2-million fee is enough to buy 80,000 kilos of rice priced at P25 per kilo, Villanueva said, adding that Filipinos should look closely into the campaign spending of the candidates. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)