(sent to Inquirer) 
I am writing in response to the article Pacman’s political agenda, dated May 7, 2009. After having just watched Legally Blonde 2, I was inspired to speak up because I’ve observed that there has been too much hype going on after Pacquiao’s victory, and it really ain’t pretty.
            Being a symbol of Filipino pride is one thing, running for office to represent the Filipino is another. To me, Manny Pacquiao has always symbolized the Filipino who had to sweat and bleed to rise from poverty; an inspiration to those who had to live with almost nothing to their name; a man who represents the faith and strength of the Filipino. Yet, I still can’t help but dwell on the issue of his political agenda.

            After a failed attempt at congress, Pacquiao, after his victory over Hatton stated his intention to run for office again because he supposes that he can help the poor through the Congress. To me, this idea of governance has been the problem why our government is like traffic on a Monday morning – stand-still: people thinking that it is the only avenue for them to affect change in this country.

I have always believed that good governance is a function of electing brilliant leaders whose sole purpose is to serve their country. To me, good leaders are those who actually know how to argue for themselves, those who have actually learned to research on issues that affect our country, those who have experience in managing people and have immersed themselves enough to know the problem. While Manny has the experience to back his candidacy for Congress up, I think that he does not have enough knowledge to actually be immersed in that kind of politics. Being a congressman is a tough job – he has to propose legislation and decide on very important matters that will affect this country such as to confirm treaties, declare war, impeach a public official, etc. He cannot always rely on his staff to do things for him because in the end he is the one who decides. He will just be used by others to advance their political agenda. I have this observation that he has kept this attitude of the uneducated voter who thinks that those people run really do want to do good. This is the Philippines, and to tell you honestly, not all of them have clean intentions, and to rise from our poverty, we must elect an Obama!

Pacquiao has won over P580M during his match with Hatton. It is just sad to him throw it all away should he really run for office. Heck, even if he gives each Filipino a million pesos each, he still has over P400M left! But if he really wants to help people and to rebuild this nation, why not invest in long term development projects of NGO’s such as Gawad Kalinga, World Vision, and the World Wildlife Fund? Through those organizations he could provide scholarships for those who are smart from the slums but do not have the money to study, help save the environment and most importantly REBUILD THIS NATION!
The wisest investment and agenda he could make is to put his money where real solutions lie; nothing political – just pure, genuine, faith-based and principled service. HHat

Okay, before you react negatively, let me explain why I think that.

Proud as I am to be a Filipina, I still can't help but be utterly disparaging towards him.

Fine, he does bring honor to the country by playing abroad,  but is he the only athlete that we can be truly proud of? Is he the only athlete worthy of funding and massive support from the government? Is he the only athlete who has ever won titles and such?

For me, Manny Pacquiao has been a symbol of the unjust practices of the Philippine government. This guy wins millions of pesos abroad, and they still gives him incentives and lure him into politics and be their puppet. He LETS himself GET USED by those bloodsucking politicians (Lito Atienza and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, to name just a few)

Aside from that, there are MORE TALENTED ATHLETES in this country who don't get sent abroad to join competitions. Why? Lack of funds! WTF? Why spend it on Pacquiao or trips abroad? Why not sponsor those who truly NEED it? Isn't that the purpose of the government? Just look at the Beijing Olympics! How dismal! Some of the athletes who participated already had the money. How disappointing! For a country whose government engages in a lot of unimportant activities here and abroad, we sure do have the lamest excuses for not alloting enough funds for gifted people.

He has a lot of money too, yet his participation in social causes has been gravely disappointing. Why?

His way of supporting the less privileged has been in the form of dole-outs. A system I strongly am against. I mean, yes, it is good up to a certain point, but shouldn't we invest on training them to find more creative ways to sustain their families and daily living. This system is but a short-term solution to the greater problems our country faces. It is but disappointing to see people like him advocate this. This just highlights the widening gap between the rich and the poor, the haves and have-nots. He does not contribute to the long-term solution of eradicating poverty -- even if he has the influence to do so.

If this guy runs in 2010, I'm so running amok (err... maybe protest a lot)!

We've already had terrible examples in the past. Do we have to replicate them over and over again?