Pacquiao named Ambassador for the Homeless and Vulnerable

MANILA, Philippines — A leading international humanitarian and philanthropic organization has formally named Sen. Manny Pacquiao as the world’s “Ambassador for the Homeless and Vulnerable,” owing to his popular rags-to-riches life story.

The presidential aspirant also led the groundbreaking of a community center in a housing development project at the reclamation area in Barangay Subangdako in Mandaue City, Cebu after he was conferred the title by the organization Spring Rain Global.

Pacquiao recalled the days when he was forced to sleep on the streets and his family had to live in makeshift shanties, which prompted his desire to make housing one of the priority programs of his administration, in case he makes it to Malacañang.

The Filipino global boxing champion in eight weight divisions also said that having a decent home “not only will provide shelter, warmth and comfort to the poor, but it will also give people a sense of dignity and thus give them motivation to improve their way of life.”

Pacquiao said he plans to build at least 10 million houses that will be distributed for free to the country’s 1.6 million informal settlers and more than nine million families renting apartments or are sharing spaces with their extended families.

Spring Rain Global facilitates funding for various humanitarian projects, especially in Third World countries.

It has been working with the country’s Vincentian Missionaries, Malibu Matimco Village Homeowners Association Inc., Chamber of Real Estate and Builders Association and Mandaue City government for the construction of 3,000 housing units at the reclamation area in Sitio Malibu and Matimco in Mandaue.

Also during his visit to Cebu, Pacquiao turned over 10 generator sets donated by Veloce Esports and Team Pacquiao GG to 10 communities in Cebu province, which still have no electricity because of the devastation caused by Typhoon Odette in December last year.

Although these private sector partnerships that build shelters for poor Filipinos are helping bridge the housing gap, these projects are barely enough to make a dent in addressing the country’s massive housing shortage, according to the billionaire-senator.

Pacquiao said this is the reason housing is one of the priority programs under his “Health of the Nation” policy platform. Health is an acronym for Housing, Education, Aid, Livelihood, Transportation and Utilities, and Health.

He realized that it is impossible to address the country’s housing problem without the full and direct support of the government after building five housing subdivisions called “Pacman Villages” in General Santos City and Sarangani province.