Miriam to invite Pacquiao, mom to wedding anniversary

Filipino boxing icon and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao may not be her ally when it comes to the Reproductive Health (RH) bill issue, but Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago is keen on inviting him to her 40th wedding anniversary celebration next month. “Pugilistic excellence is not one of my ambitions. I have no desire to spar with Pacman," Santiago, who authored the RH bill at the Senate, said in a statement on Wednesday. Also to be invited are Pacquiao’s wife Jinkee and mother Dionisia. “I feel affection for him (Pacquiao) and Aling Dionisia, because we are all Visayans," Santiago said. Santiago had earlier lashed at Pacquiao for opposing the passage of the RH bill and had even advised him to stay of the debates. She even criticized his grammar. This prompted Dionisia Pacquiao to defend her son. Santiago said she did not mean to offend the Pacquiao family. “It was just an affectionate appeal in the Ilongo dialect," she said. 40th wedding anniversary Santiago will be renewing her wedding vows with former Interior undersecretary Narciso Santiago on June 19 at the Manila Cathedral, with President Benigno Aquino III as their best man and actress Heart Evangelista as maid of honor. Santiago said former presidents Joseph Estrada and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, GMA Network chairman and CEO Atty. Felipe Gozon, SM Group of Companies president Teresita Sy Coson, Manila Bulletin owner Emilio Yap, Philippine Daily Inquirer chairperson Marixi Prieto, SMC chairman and CEO Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr., Chief Justice Renato Corona, Justice Consuelo Ynarez Santiago, PDI’s Marizi Prieto, Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos and Vice President Jejomar Binay will be among their principal sponsors. She said her secondary sponsors will include former Sen. Mar Roxas and wife Korina Sanches-Roxas (candle); TV5 chairman and chief executive officer Manny Pangilinan and Evelyn Singson (veil); Sen. Manny Villar and wife former Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar (cord); and Isabel Ongpin and former Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral (bible bearers). Members of the entourage will include Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, Senators Antonio Trillanes IV, Ramon Bong Revilla Jr., Juan Miguel Zubiri, Edgardo Angara, Pia Cayetano, Loren Legarda, prima ballerina Lisa Macuja Elizalde, and former beauty queen Gemma Cruz Araneta. Santiago, however, noted that she will not invite former President Fidel Ramos, who defeated her in the 1992 presidential elections. “There is no law that compels me to invite people I actively dislike," she said. Santiago said the wedding will be officiated by Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales. — Kimberly Jane Tan/KBK, GMA News