Pacquiao weapon versus disqualification By Al S. Mendoza   ONLY presidential candidates Duterte & Co. have been consistently getting huge media mileage? Think again, fellas. One candidate not running for president has been going great guns hogging the spotlight. He is none other than Manny Pacquiao, who is running for…

Revealing Pacquiao’s bigger battle By Al S. Mendoza   THE first nagging question is:  What happened to Manny Pacquiao? Why his sudden outburst against gays and lesbians? What made him do it, calling same-sex partners making love as “worse than animals?” Where did his position come from, when I never…

Candidates beware By Al S. Mendoza   CANDIDATES are the most vulnerable. That’s because since they are mostly in the limelight these days, they talk a lot. It is this human act that puts them as subject of scrutiny.  Eternally. Always, they are on the ropes. Non-candidates are spared of…

From Comelec to Omelec By Al S. Mendoza   HERE we go again. Posters nailed/hung by candidates in unauthorized spots have been ordered removed by Comelec. What are unauthorized spots but government properties? But are electric posts and electric wires government properties? Aren’t they owned by Meralco or cooperative electric…

San Miguel Beer rewrites history By Al S. Mendoza   ONE of the hardest things to achieve is creating history. Cory Aquino made history in 1986 when she became the first woman to get elected President of the Philippines. Hilary Clinton will do the same trick if she proceeds to…

Manila was where Hermie’s heart was By Al S. Mendoza   THE last time I was with Hermie Rivera in our beloved Dagupan was in 2012. “We need to see your buloy, Al,” he said to me then, in his usual sound of utmost urgency. Everything in Hermie was urgent….

Ambition & money elixirs for Pacquiao By Al S. Mendoza   NOT known to many, Manny Pacquiao oozes with ambition. Well, he loves money more than anything in the world. The trigger to that was his impoverished childhood that depended solely on the kindness of others for him to survive….

Pacquiao’s conditioning coach in hot water By Al S. Mendoza   IS Alex Ariza trying to pull our legs? He now wants Manny Pacquiao to leave Bob Arum. And in what capacity that Ariza wields to even counsel Pacquiao on purely legal matters? Ariza is Pacquiao’s conditioning expert—a good one…

On the virtue of gratitude By Al S. Mendoza   THE golden rule is the most invincible saying of all time. As the New Year has just dawned upon us, it is but fitting that this motto is recalled anew if only to serve as guidance for us in our…

Power of the unexpected By Al S. Mendoza THE past year wasn’t good for Manny Pacquiao—but only insofar as his win-loss record is concerned. Life is irony it surprises me no more. After his 12-round loss on points to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last May, Pacquiao became Asia’s highest paid athlete…