Pacquiao offers to pay for solons’ ringside tickets

Seven-division world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao, who is also a member of the Lower House representing Sarangani province, has offered to pay for the accommodations and ringside tickets for any of his colleagues who will watch his bout with Mexican boxer Antonio Margarito on Sunday. However, lawmakers who attend the fight will have to pay for their own plane tickets to Texas, said Surigao del Sur Rep. Philip Pichay. Margarito, known as “Tijuana Tornado," and Pacquiao, who is also “Pacman" in the boxing world, will square off in a 12-round bout for the World Boxing Council (WBC) super-welterweight title at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, a city in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Pacquiao’s office in Congress reported that 54 lawmakers have taken up the boxer’s offer.
By the official count of the House Secretary-General, only 10 congressmen have officially requested travel authority to attend the boxing match. Two more are in the midst of securing permission. Solons who skip working days to attend the match in Texas will be marked absent in Congress. Pacquiao himself has been recorded as absent since the 15th session of Congress opened yesterday. However, other members of the Lower House declined Pacquiao's offer, including Zambales Rep. Mitos Magsaysay, who told reporters, "I would have loved to watch his fight, but he [already knows] what our responsibilities are." Asked by GMANews.TV if he was going to join the ringside exodus, Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares said in a text reply: “No, I can’t, there’s still an ongoing session. Plus, I wasn’t one of those offered, and I couldn’t afford the fare. I’ll support him by watching the fight on TV and cheer for him." This is the first time that an active boxer who has become a congressman will fight professionally in the ring, reported GMA News’ Chino Trinidad on "24 Oras." Meanwhile, Rep. Pedro Acharon of Pacquiao's hometown, General Santos City, said they are setting up wide-screen projectors so people can watch Pacquiao's fight. "Whatever happens, manalo man siya o matalo [win or lose], even if he has transferred to Sarangani province, we still consider him as a son of General Santos City," said Acharon. 'No Cabinet official so far' Meanwhile, a Malacañang official said no Cabinet official has so far asked for a travel authority to make the trip to the Pacquiao-Margarito encounter. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said this is probably because the members of President Benigno Aquino III’s Cabinet are sensitive to the government’s current austerity measures. While Valte said that there’s “a general guideline from the President" to observe austerity measures in times of difficulty, it would still be up to Aquino if he would grant any request from his top officials to attend the Pacquiao fight. During the congressman-boxer’s courtesy call to the Palace last month, Aquino personally wished him victory in his forthcoming fight. Pacquiao, currently the WBO welterweight world champion, is the first boxer in history to win nine world titles in seven different weight divisions. The Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) named him "Fighter of the Decade" for the 2000s. He was rated as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world by several sporting news and boxing websites, such as the Ring Magazine, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, NBC Sports, Yahoo! Sports and About.com.—With Larissa Mae Suarez/JV, GMANews.TV