Pacquiao’s doing it with his mountain of money
By Al S. Mendoza
PEOPLE say the presidential candidates have begun campaigning.
The Comelec says not yet.
So, what are they all doing—Lacson, Isko, Marcos Jr., Pacquiao and Leni?
Why are they going around the country, showing themselves in public aboard gaudy and bedecked vehicles, waving and smiling at people lining up the streets?
They are not campaigning?
They are not courting the people’s vote?
They are not asking for people’s support in the May 2022 presidential elections?
Oh, c’mon. Are you kidding me?
Are they wasting their time for nothing?
Are they wasting their energy for nothing?
Are they wasting their money for nothing?
Look, Pacquiao hands out crisp bills in bundles to everyone, masa and all, while being at it and he doesn’t give a hoot to critics trying to belittle his stunts.
He is the only one among the five main presidential hopefuls doing that—doling out cash in wild abandon.
“This is my money,” he says in Tagalog. “I did not steal this money.”
Is he trying to buy votes this early in the game?
“Of course, not,” Pacquiao says. “I’ve been doing this long before I joined the presidential race. I love giving money to the people, especially to the poor.”
No falsehood there. His being generous to a fault has become legend, especially in his turf.
People practically line up in his GenSan City mansion almost every morning to ask for money, if not food.
Every Christmas since he became a world boxing champion, he held parties where he’d raffle off cash and even brand-new cars.
His birthdays and those of his loved ones are celebrated with ludicrous regularity by distributing cash to his well-wishers coming mostly from the marginalized sector.
Indeed, when it comes to sharing his boxing bounty, Pacquiao has no equal almost among his peers.
Many say that after he had started amassing billions from his mega bouts—his record-breaking fight alone against Floyd Mayweather Jr. netted him no less than $200 million—tossing out cash has become second nature to him.
His loot has become neck-deep that he couldn’t spend them all even if he had five lifetimes.
How long will his billions hold isn’t the million peso question.
It is how he will be able to hang on to his fortune that bears watching.
Chavit Singson, a billionaire himself long recognized as Ilocandia’s most powerful after Marcos the dictator, has hinted at how Pacquiao’s wealth would eventually evaporate.
“If he doesn’t watch it, his presidential bid might deplete his wealth,” says Chavit, Pacquiao’s former bosom buddy, in Tagalog.
They parted ways after Pacquiao had announced his Palace bid.
Chavit was scathing: “He’s not fit to be president. He might be a champion boxer but he knows nothing about running the affairs of the country.”
With his mountain of money, Pacquiao thinks he can gain power.
Money also makes men ultra-ambitious.
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HAPPY wedding anniversary to Ricky & Aya Sadiwa!
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