Pacquiao eyes San Mateo, Rodriguez for his training

Residents of San Mateo or Rodriguez (formerly Montalban) in Rizal might soon see Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao jogging in their area as he eyes these two areas for his training. House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. earlier thumbed down Pacquiao's plan to train inside the compound of the House of Representatives in Batasan Complex, Quezon City. Pacquiao now eyes the mountainous section of San Mateo and Rodriguez for his training, saying that both are near the Batasan Complex. “Malaki ang lugar diyan (Batasan Complex) pero kailangan ko ang bundok para sa jogging. Hindi ko pa kabisado ang address sa Rizal, pero baka sa Montalban (now Rodriguez) o kaya sa San Mateo ako magte-training," Pacquiao said on Friday. The neophyte lawmaker said he wanted to train near Batasan so that he could also attend to his duties as a lawmaker. Pacquiao, the first boxer in history to win seven world titles in seven different weight divisions, is a member of the committees on sports, aquaculture and millenium development goal. The Filipino boxing champion also clarified that his plan to train in the Batasan complex was not really serious. “Hindi naman talaga ako magte-traning sa Congress. Wala namang gamit ang gym diyan," he said. On Thursday, Belmonte said Pacquiao can do his jogging at the House grounds once in a while but not everyday. “I don’t like the grounds of the House to be the focus of some professional fight like that. If he’s going to do it once or twice here purely so we can see him and so forth, that’s OK. But that’s about it," Belmonte said. Aside from jogging, Pacquiao joins his colleagues in playing basketball inside the gym every Monday night after the House sessions. Pacquiao's fight is scheduled on November 13. His most likely opponent is Mexican fighter Antonio Margarito. — VVP, GMANews.TV