Pacquiao stories

Sunday, Monday. And then Tuesday. The talk of the town was still Manny Pacquiao. I guess it was true that Pacquiao's fight united us as a people. My friends said the fight made them temporarily forget their political leanings -- until the viewers heard that familiar voice, saying "Hello Manny?"

That was just one of the many stories I've heard about how Dumaguete watched the Pacquiao fight. Here are some of them:

***

"I was told to keep my sermon short today," our pastor, Reuben Cedino, said as he began his sermon. "That's because at 10 o' clock, our LCD projector will stop showing the liturgy and flash the Pacquiao-Morales fight." It was a joke, of course. Pastor Bong, as he is commonly called, even had an appropriate sermon for that Sunday, entitled, "The Perfect Rematch."

The sermon was not related to boxing but to the story of Jonah who had a rematch with God. Pastor Bong said he is not a fan of boxing and does not believe that it should even become a sport. But, he acknowledged, its power over most Filipinos cannot be denied. Indeed, there were some people who had to skip church that morning, thinking that the fight would be aired live on ABS-CBN. The fight actually started airing on a delayed telecast after 1 pm.

***

"Why aren't we bringing snacks?" a church member asked our other SU Church Pastor Callum Tabada. They were going to the Negros Oriental Provincial Jail and, as was their custom, they would bring snacks over for the fellowship portion after the Bible Study.

"That's because I have a feeling that we won't be having a Bible Study today," Pastor Callum answered.

And when they got to the provincial jail that Sunday afternoon, they found that all the inmates were gathered in front of the lone television set in the jail watching the Pacquiao fight. That explained why there was only one jail guard at the entrance for the others were seated comfortably in front of the television set.

So Pastor Callum got the microphone and started to talk. Embarrassed, the guards immediately stood up and turned the television off. "Good afternoon!, Pastor Callum greeted them. We won't have our Bible Study today but let us continue to watch the fight and share the joy of the entire nation," Pastor Callum said to the cheers of the inmates.

***

Freelance TV sports director Bebs Alvarez was texting me throughout the fight. His message read: "Morales is the winner -- I saw it on CNN. Long live Morales! The new president of Bolivia!" I had fun forwarding that text to a friend in General Santos City, who initially thought it was Morales the boxer who had won.

Soon, Bebs was again texting me -- "I guess the country will have more dollar inflows in the next few weeks. That's because all of our OFWs should have bet on Pacquiao and they must have won thousands of dollars!"

***

"I was watching the Pacquiao boxing match with my television on mute," my friend Cobbie Palm told me last Monday. He said his wife Dessa was doing some speech training and didn't want to be disturbed. "But what was amazing was even though my TV was on 'mute', each punch of Pacquiao which connected to Morales could be heard through the wild applause and shouts of my neighbors--everyone was watching it!"

Indeed, the Pacquiao fight proved to be the most-watched event on television, with a 56 percent viewership rating for ABS-CBN.*

back to top