BACOLOD City Mayor Monico Puentevella has proposed to put up a statue of Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao in the city.
Puentevella said that he came up with the idea when he was still congressman, but the Congress and the Senate did not see the wisdom of his proposal.
With the victory of Pacquiao against Timothy Bradley recently, he said it is but fitting to resurrect the idea of putting up a statue in honor of a great Filipino boxer who happened to be an adopted son of Bacolod.
"I have covered 16 boxing matches of my Pareng Manny and he deserves to be honored. For now, we will let Bacolod put up a statue in honor of him. A statue that will commemorate his achievements in the field of boxing,” the mayor said.
He added: “Many have not realized the extent and impact of the honor given by Pacquiao to the country. He is the most famous Filipino in the face of the earth. There is no Filipino more popular than Pacquiao."
Puentevella said that even basketball superstar Michael Jordan and actor Sylvester Stallon, who starred in the "Rocky" franchise, have their own statues in the United States.
"Why not Manny Pacquaio, who is a world champion in many weight divisions. The best time you can give honor to a person is when he is still alive," he said.
The mayor added that he already talked to Pacquiao about his plan and the boxing icon is amenable to it.
Puentevella said he asked the artists to present their proposal as the city will fund the creation of a statue in honor of Pacquiao.
He will create a task force to hasten the realization of this proposal, the mayor said.
