And now it's 'Congressman Manny Pacquiao'

With the $12 million prize money in his pocket, Manny Pacquiao is now ready to campaign for the Congressional seat in his wife’s home province of Sarangani. Pacquiao has earned some $53 million since 2008 – and that doesn’t even include fees from endorsements, pay-per-view, ticket sales, etc. Even with taxes and other pay cuts, the champion boxer has generated around P2 billion. With that kind of money, it certainly won’t be a problem to run for any kind of office like a Congressional seat for instance.

I’m afraid our poor friend Roy Chiongbian, who’s gunning for the same seat, is going to have a very difficult time fighting someone who not only has the big bucks but is also a world-famous celebrity. Pacquiao’s drawing power was proven once again with the record attendance of 50,994 at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones must be grinning from ear-to-ear at recouping the millions he invested for “The Event.” Although the Pacquiao-Clottey fight did not bring in the same excitement and anticipation compared to a Pacquiao-Mayweather matchup, boxing fans shelled out as much as $700 for the leather ringside seats and coughed up $30 to $50 for parking since there is no public transportation access to the venue. 

And while Manny may have lost in his first attempt at politics in 2007, his supporters believe it will be different this time with their idol having become even more popular, plus the fact that he is allied with the Nacionalista Party of Manny Villar. After all, the NP is one of the most structured and most well-oiled organizations in the country today. For his part, Villar said the NP will give Pacquiao a hero’s welcome for bringing honor to the country once again. Right after winning against Clottey, the boxing champ phoned his namesake and reiterated his commitment to join the campaign trail when he gets home. No one can discount the value of Manny Pacquiao as a political endorser, so expect his presence in NP campaign sorties to draw a lot of “people power.” 

On the other hand, the Liberal Party is also counting on the star power of Noynoy Aquino’s famous sister Kris and her husband, basketball star James Yap, to draw in the crowds. And yes, even their son Baby James will also be barnstorming having virtually been fashioned into a celebrity from the time he was born, with a record album, product endorsements and the like. In the Philippines, it’s not unusual to tap famous celebrities to become endorsers and crowd drawers during political rallies. After all, one of the most important things for politicians is to get the people to hear their message. Even in the United States, candidates have their own army of celebrity endorsers like Oprah Winfrey and Robert de Niro for Barack Obama, while John McCain had Sylvester Stallone and California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Whether such celebrity endorsements will translate into actual votes is the big question.

No doubt Manny Pacquiao has become the most famous Filipino in the world today. With his billions, he could very well afford to relax, enjoy his money and live like a king considering his popularity not only among Filipinos but people all over the world. But for some reason – and many people don’t know why – he wants to become a politician. If he really wants to help Filipinos, he can do it without joining the political arena. Be that as it may, I only hope he will enjoy the same kind of image and adulation he is experiencing today if or when they start calling him the “Honorable Congressman Pacquiao.”

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MGB reacts

We received an email from Edwin Domingo, OIC of the office of the Director of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) in reaction to our March 11 column entitled “Mining could save this country from bankruptcy.” According to Mr. Domingo, the minerals industry contributed P100.5 billion to the country’s GDP in 2009, with government revenues from taxes, fees and royalties amounting to P7.5 billion. The industry also generated 165,000 indirect jobs and about 825,000 indirect jobs. Regarding the slow processing of mining applications which has become a bane for many foreign investors, Domingo says that while this is partly true, the processing of mining applications entails not only requirements from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources/MGB but also requisites of the Free and Prior Informed Consent from the National Commission of Indigenous People, plus proof of consultation or Sanggunian endorsement from concerned local government units.

He gave the assurance however that “the DENR is continuously undertaking efforts to streamline the processing of mining applications by shortening the area clearance procedure, the publication posting and radio announcement requirement, and the review process,” and to shorten the processing of mining applications to just a maximum of 10 weeks. With regard to the issuance of the Environmental Compliance Certificates, he says the DENR has mandated the Environmental Management Bureau to shorten the 90-day processing period to just 20 working days, and had set up an online system at the EMB website which also allows applicants to view the status of their ECC applications.

As for crooked MGB employees, Domingo assures that they have instituted several reforms in 2009 such as the issuance of the “Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards of the DENR” and other initiatives, promising that complaints on erring employees will be investigated. He also reiterated that “the DENR takes the position that only Responsible Mining shall be pursued, where the opening of areas to mining shall not be at all costs and that only the big mineral deposits able to absorb social and environmental costs shall be opened for operations.” Let’s hope all these reforms will be initiated for the mining industry to attract more foreign investors and fully realize its potential as “a star performer” in this country’s economy.

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