MANNY PACQUIAO AND THE OTHER MANNY I KNOW

Let us have a timeout from the card frauds and discuss something else.

Every night on my way home, I would make it a point to prepare spare coins just so that I can give some to beggars stationed along the roads. While I certainly share other people’s opinion that giving alms would only tolerate their laziness, I believe too that giving spare money to the less fortunate wouldn’t really hurt my pocket that much.

Among these “suki” beggars was an old man, only in his early 50s and does not seem too old to resort to mendicancy. His name- MANG MANNY. So two weeks ago, just as a sort of experiment, I talked to him and proposed to give him seven hundred pesos as start up capital for a small business. I told him that instead of begging for alms, he could start selling small stuffs like candies and cigarettes or newspapers maybe. Before leaving, I told him that I would be delighted to see him next time as a small-time entrepreneur.

Barely a day afterwhich, in one of the nights I brought my car home, I saw MANG MANNY walking along the same road bringing with him a Jollibee plastic bag which I presumed contained food in it. I’d be a liar if I would say that I did not think the money he used to buy the food came from that I gave him. Nevertheless, I gave him the benefit of the doubt and thought that probably somebody gave the food or he bought it from proceeds of the small business which I thought he already had.

Last night, on my way home I chanced upon MANG MANNY on the same spot where I used to see him before- still asking for alms. I must admit that I was disappointed to see him but I felt even more disgusted when he did not even recognize me at all.

Call me naïve, but I should have known better. Some people are indeed too lazy to lift their asses to earn for themselves a living. Pride and dignity are very foreign in their system. It could be that when God sent out “pride and dignity” from the heavens, MANG MANNY and several others like him were neatly tucked asleep in their tents.

He was a million light years away in terms of pride and dignity than the popular MANNY we all know.

Many tales of MANNY PACQUIAO’s rise to fame and fortune have long been written and repeated. As if these tales are not enough, I am here giving my two-cents, for his story never fails to give me some form of inspiration.

I was new in my work then and had a 2nd hand car to boast of. A lot of times when I passed by Governor Forbes in Sampaloc, I would see MANNY PACQUIAO, then a skinny kid jogging under the heat of the sun. He did not mind when people gave him “corny” glances when they see him throwing punches to the wind while he ran in his jogging outfit which I guessed must have been purchased in Divisoria, very much unlike the specially designed Nike outfits he dons nowadays. In his face then, I already saw the intensity and persistence for which he has been known for.

I have been an avid boxing fan since I was a child and unlike any other boxing fan wanna be’s, I am one who watches practically any boxing match I see regardless of the fighters. If I walk in the streets and see 2 kids in gloves fighting, I assure you that I would stop for a while and watch. That is how I characterized my being a fan of the sweet science.

It was in these ordinary matches that I first had a glimpse of the “fighting PACQUIAO”. Every Saturday nights in the mid 90’s, I would stay up late just so that I could watch “BLOW-BY’BLOW” a boxing program which featured up and coming Filipino fighters. PACQUIAO was a favorite in that program for unlike the other fighters whose fights have been featured, he was exciting to watch. He made up for his lack of boxing skill by his strength and tenacity.

But more than the excitement he brings to the ring, what caught my attention more were stories from the commentators about how he has been striving very hard to become a good fighter and make ends meet at the same time. He supposedly came from a very poor family in Dadiangas (now General Santos) and had to runaway to Manila in order to seek his fortune here. A commentator said that when he was taken in the fold of a boxing gym owner in Sampaloc, PACQUIAO had to help in the chores and had to sleep near the kitchen sink just so that he could stay there for free and train at the same time. He would finish the chores first before he would go to the gym to train. And that everytime he would win, he would automatically send part of his money to his mother in the province leaving little for himself. Proof of his supposed sad plight as a fighter, he would borrow training shoes from his stable mate whenever they do not use it. Yet, these setbacks did not weaken him but instead inspired him to strive further.

These stories intrigued me of PAQUIAO even more. Everytime I would pass by Governor Forbes and see PACQUIAO jogging, I would open the windows of my car and hoped to give him high-fives just in case he would pass nearby. At one time, I saw him eating banana Q and drinking gulaman in front of the UST gate and I had no doubts then that this guy would make it big in the future. I was right.

Today, I don’t get to see PACQUIAO up close and personal anymore instead I only see him in the big screen. He has done great for himself as a fighter and person, but more than what he did for himself, he has influenced the lives of Filipinos. His fights have become events when we would set aside our work, religious beliefs, political inclinations and personal differences just so that we could altogether root for him. Abroad, Filipinos look forward to his fights for an opportunity to bond with other Pinoys away from their busy schedules.

In a lot of ways PACQUIAO has inspired a lot of us. He has championed the masses and is a living testament of what hard work could do. He has thread the difficult path and arrived with flying colors. Too bad that the other MANNY I know, even with a little push, opted the easier way. Well that’s from his standpoint anyway.

I could cite other MANNY PACQUIAOs I know in so far as rising from setbacks and trials are concerned. I know of one who had to sleep for two nights in Rizal Park, with only crackers and a bottle of water on hand in order to save her money to spend the following day to find a decent job to feed her kids. Earlier, she had to run away from an abusive good-for-nothing husband who for almost three years knew nothing but manhandle her everytime he was under the influence of liquor. While she came from a well-to-do family, her pride was exorbitant that she wanted to rise up on her own and not rely on support and assistance from anybody.

I also know of another who from being an ordinary checker in a “meatloaf” factory upgraded himself to become an owner of various call centers in Metro Manila. Today, he employs around 500 employees, a far cry from the time when he was the one receiving daily wages.

Lastly, there was this guy who works his butt out almost twenty-four hours a day just so that he could share his blessings to his less fortunate siblings. He wakes up 3 o’clock in the morning, even when he is not feeling well and calls it a day at around 11 at night. Even at home and weekends he would work, without sacrificing his precious time with his kids. While he makes it a point to speak his heart out about how displeased he is about how his other siblings take life shabbily, he never misses the beat in terms of sharing to them his blessings.

There are lots of MANNY PACQUIAOs out there, refusing to be defeated by poverty and mediocrity by taking the challenges posed by life and eventually emerging victorious to inspire us all. In the next PACQUIAO fight, I hope to be able to tag along MANG MANNY and hope that the applauses and adulations we give for PACQUIAO could serve as his wake up call. Maybe he was among those who need a little more push to be inspired. In my case, the last three PACQUIAO fights (against DIAZ, DELA HOYA and HATTON) were all doses of inspiration that have lifted my spirit. But then again in reality, I am not one lacking in inspiration. I had my own PACQUIAO with me when I saw those fights. I hope to bring my own PACQUIAO again next time regardless as to who the next opponent would be.