Pacquiao dead? Country seized by nasty rumor

The Filipino nation went to bed Saturday night and woke up Sunday morning trying to get a grip of itself in the wake of rumors that boxing icon Manny Pacquiao was killed in an ambush in General Santos City during a campaign sortie for his bid to become a congressman.

Nasty text messages about the " untimely demise " of Pacquiao spread like wildfire.

The rumor spread not only on the wings of the original text message itself but was helped along greatly by subsequent questions that recipients sent others seeking further information or details.

But none were forthcoming precisely because it was all a hoax.

Newsrooms that received the text messages scrambled to get confirmation or denial where available.

Pacquiao confidant Rex " Wakee " Salud and his lawyer Franklin " Jing " Jacal strongly denied the rumors, saying they were most likely part of the " black propaganda " waged by the Pacman’s political rivals.

Pacquiao is running for the congressional seat in the first district of South Cotabato against incumbent Rep. Darlene Antonio Custodio in the May 14 elections.

" Of course it’s not true. I just spoke with Manny and he’s very well and fine. Nothing untoward happened to him. In fact when I called him up after hearing about this nasty rumor, he was on the campaign trail, " Salud said.

" I believe it’s just a political gimmick by his opponents in an attempt to dissuade the voters from voting for Pacquiao. By doing so, the people will no longer vote for Pacquiao because they think he’s already dead, " said Jacal.

But even the political opponents of Pacquiao may not have anything to do with the rumors. Some of those asked to comment on the possibility of the rumors being spread by the rival camp were one in saying the ploy could backfire and work instead in Pacquiao’s favor.

Others said politics may have nothing to do with the rumor at all, saying the more plausible explanation is that it was all just a nasty prank.

In all probability, the prank was inspired by a story that came out in the newspapers the morning before the rumors started spreading.

The story dealt with a petition by Pacquiao to be provided bodyguards allegedly because of threats he had been receiving. Apparently, somebody picked it up from there and started the nasty text message that Pacquiao had been ambushed and killed while campaigning.

The rumors had the biggest impact in places where crowds of people congregate, such as public markets.

On Saturday evening, a Freeman reported called in to say the Carbon market was abuzz with the rumor. By Sunday morning, people were texting from the Tabunok market in Talisay City asking if the news was true.

But there was no news to that effect. It was a rare case of no news being good news. — Emmanuel B. Villaruel/JST