(The letter is addressed to Sun.Star Cebu columnist Bong O. Wenceslao)
While I agree that Manny Pacquiao did beat American Chris Algieri convincingly and that he (Pacquiao) would likely beat American Floyd Mayweather Jr. s well, I differ in some other points.
Knockouts are not a sign of great boxing and Manny's last three fights have seen the best boxing of his career. He was as active and energetic in the twelfth rounds as he was in the first.
In his first fight with American Timothy Bradley, he obviously ran out of energy in the last rounds and that is probably why two judges gave Bradley the fight. Bradley commented that Manny is better now than he was then after their last fight.
He finished Bradley 2 with his stamina. He never looked so good and I have been a fan
for awhile. I attribute his stamina to his new found religion. The evangelical faith that he currently embraces prohibits alcohol consumption or gambling.
It seems that he converted late in 2012 after his controversial loss to Bradley on June 9, 2012. The exact date of his conversion seems to be unknown.
A former member of his training team and current member of Manny’s 300-member entourage to Macau, China told me prior to the first Bradley fight that Manny was staying up late gambling and drinking and he thought it was damaging his stamina.
As to your question "Why wouldn’t he be showy in the case of his religion now?" a primary sponsor of his is San Miguel Beer/Ginebra. Might it not displease his sponsor if it comes out that his strength and stamina are enhanced by not drinking?--Rowland Lane Anderson of Davao City
Animal cruelty during transport
This is a reaction to an article titled, ‘“nimal cruelty can lead to fines,” (Sun.Star Cebu, Nov. 25, 2014.
I am not questioning how the Department of Agriculture (DA) was able to come up with the hefty figure of P250,000 as penalty for those transporting animals inside cramped trucks or cages.
What I want to bring out is how to treat animals humanely when transporting them on trucks to destinations where they will end up being slaughtered.
Let us remember that from the time they are born until they reach the slaughtering age, hogs have always enjoyed the comforts accorded them inside the piggery farm.
They are confined in pigpens where they do nothing but eat, drink, defecate, sleep and being doused with water by piggery attendants. Other piggeries play soothing music.
Suffice to say that the pigs are in an environment where they are not subjected to any stress whatsoever so that they can grow and gain weight according to their age, as that is the bottom line in raising hogs.
It is when hogs come to age for slaughter that trouble starts. They are being shouted at and beaten to move faster on their way single file to the weighing scale, and even when prodded to march towards the back of a waiting truck.
The humane treatment comes when, depending on the weather, either the driver or his helper decides to provide the truck with a rooftop. They should also carry with them a barrel full of water to refresh the hogs during the trip.
But most of all the driver should not drive the truck like a maniac so the pigs will not be bumping hard and falling one on top of the other. Perhaps, this is where and when the heavy penalty fine should be meted.--Jesus Sievert