Where are their moolah coming from?
By Al S. Mendoza
MANNY Pacquiao has stopped giving his money to the people.
He has said it himself.
“I have to stop, but only temporarily, though,” he said in Tagalog. “I do not wish to disturb the relief operations being done now by our police and soldiers.”
He was referring, of course, to the massive work to provide aid to the victims of super Typhoon Odette.
At the forefront of this monumental mission, admirable as it is, include our police and military in a rare partnership with the private sector.
Not to question Pacquiao’s motive of halting his money-giving habit, but since when did gift-giving a distraction?
Anytime, a gift coming especially in dire times, when hunger and thirst stalk, is a boon of all boons.
In fact, extending almost instant aid to bereaved, grieving families right after a calamity is the most opportune time to show your sincerity, to display your true spirit of oneness with persons in need.
I say it would even endear Pacquiao to our poor folk all the more if he kept doling out money, not to mention distributing bags of grocery items to our typhoon-ravaged countrymen.
This is where the dictator’s son scored one over Pacquiao.
Did you know that Ferdinand Marcos Jr. supplanted Pacquiao as the benevolent candidate for president, using Odette to pounce on Pacquiao’s lapse?
The dictator’s son immediately flew to Odette-hit Southern Leyte and its neighbors to disburse, initially, no less than P5 million as aid to typhoon victims.
Very honorable, indeed.
So, who said that presidential candidates fixated with giving money are considered guilty of vote buying—a custom began by Pacquiao?
Of course, not.
The Comelec said so itself, citing a Supreme Court ruling that such money-giving spree becomes an election offense only during the campaign period that officially starts on Feb. 8, 2022.
Marcos is like his old man? Shades of wily ways? Like father like son?
Thus, as the country grappled for stability amid Odette’s devastation, Marcos Jr. grabbed the opportunity to grandstand, easily surpassing Pacquiao’s opulent habit of handing out crisp 500-peso- and 1,000-peso bills to people lining up the streets in his sorties across the archipelago.
While Pacquiao limited himself to nearly half-a-million pesos per campaign trip, Marcos Jr. dumped almost a fortune in his Leyte sortie, showering his mother’s hometown with unabashed bounty in a show of force—literally.
That could be the start of bigger, more expensive, things to come from the dictator’s son?
Is the highly-touted Marcos wealth of more than $10 billion deemed ill-gotten by courts from both America and the Philippines finally at work—to ensure victory?
Think again, fellas.
Where Pacquiao’s wealth came from is crystal clear: Boxing. Honest work.
But how about Marcos Jr.’s campaign kitty? From outer space?
The dictator’s 64-year-old son has never worked all his life.
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