Overstaying naval officers

Thank Heaven for Freddie Roach! The no-nonsense head trainer of Manny Pacquiao is credited with "knocking some sense" into the head of the obviously distracted Filipino World Boxing Council super-featherweight champ.

Manny has reportedly agreed to start and, more importantly, finish his training at Roach’s Wild Card gym in Los Angeles, rather than return to Manila on June 3 to "resume training" in Baguio City. Freddie knew this would be virtually suicidal for the Filipino who is up against the disciplined and "hungry" Mexican brawler, Oscar Larios.

Pacquiao’s Filipino handlers and hangers-on, as well as those sponging off him now as if this party will never end, should get it into their thick skulls that Larios is no push-over. Like his fight against Erik Morales, much will depend on Manny’s stamina, not only his punching power, of which no further proof is needed.

Manny has to be able to go the distance. Having ballooned to 142 pounds, he now has to get down to 130 without losing muscle or staying power. According to Roach, Manny should be ready for the fight in about a month. Let’s hope he’s right, but most analysts think that’s not enough time, especially against Larios who’s been in training for over a month now and is expected to be in top condition come fight night.

Roach has correctly figured out that if the original June 3rd return date to Manila is followed, Manny might as well throw in the towel and not bother to show up for the fight. With only two weeks at the Wild Card Gym, even a great talent like Manny cannot hope to be in peak condition for what is shaping up to be one of his career’s toughest engagements. Once in Manila, even if exiled to Baguio City, Manny will be subjected to what Freddie called "countless endorsement deals and big-time derby invitations."

He will also be inundated with countless social invitations, radio and television interviews and personal appearances. Then, to take a break from all this, Manny will probably seek respite in karaoke bars and casinos, and his faithful handlers will of course oblige with canine obedience.

Roach intends to bring Manny back about 11 days before the fight. He knows, though, that his work, and his troubles, won’t be over. During those 11 days, Manny should not be allowed to lose focus, something that could happen in a country which hasn’t stopped lionizing him and feting him at every opportunity, no matter how trivial.

Manny Pacquio has earned all the glory and the financial rewards that have come with his success in the ring. But in the last analysis, he will be the man that has to face a well-trained and determined opponent who intends to take all of that away from him.

There is a time for everything. Now is the time for focused training. Those enterprises that seek commercial profit by continuing to tempt him with endorsement deals should get lost, if only temporarily. Those advisers who think their own self-interest precedes that of this once-simple hometown boxer should just disappear…for good!.

Most Filipinos who have followed Manny’s career do not want him to suffer the same fate as other former great boxers who have become the pathetic victims of exploitation. We are all shocked that the hangers-on who treat Manny like a permanent meal ticket have not done enough to get our fighter into better physical and mental shape for this coming crucial fight.

If, as we fully expect, Manny vanquishes Larios, he will have Freddie Roach to thank. The greedy advertisers and slap-happy handlers should get out of the way. Let Freddie Roach do his job and let Manny focus on disposing of the pretender Larios.

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The news is that several retired Naval officers who are "overstaying" at their quarters in a portion of Fort Bonifacio are voluntarily leaving, following the example set by two former Navy Flag Officers in Command who decided to vacate the premises. However, many other retired "officers and gentlemen" refuse to leave citing a Court of Appeals decision which upheld their ownership rights over their quarters.

Technically, these retirees are correct. Seventeen former naval officers (I do not know if that number has increased) have obtained temporary restraining orders from the court to stop their eviction. The Navy says it will respect these orders, even as it carries out the eviction against those who did not obtain a TRO.

Let me say, at the outset, that I find it horrendous that retired officers of our armed forces (not just the Navy) are humiliated to the extent that, after a lifetime of service, many of them are unable to afford decent housing for their post-military life. Oh, sure, there are exceptions. Some military careerists are smarter than others and can be found inhabiting plush subdivisions around Metro Manila or in their home provinces.

It is also true that many retirees, aside from acquiring titles – ah, yes, Torrens Titles, no less – to their quarters in Fort Bonifacio, were also astute enough to set aside other properties to where they could beat a strategic retreat in case those titles were successfully assailed by the government. In the meantime, they overstay their welcome in military housing, to which they have evidently grown accustomed.

You might recall that we devoted several columns to this unseemly situation in late 2004. The on-going evictions in the Naval housing area in Fort Bonifacio gives me good reason to remind you about the Naval Officers Village Association (NOVAI) case, not to be confused with the Southside Homeowners Association (SHAI) case involving army officers also at Fort Bonifacio.

We will refresh your memories about these cases in our next columns. Briefly, the NOVAI case is a so-far unsuccessful attempt of government to recover 47.5 hectares of Fort Bonifacio property located adjacent to Dasmariñas Village in Makati. (The SHAI case covers 40 hectares located behind the Forbes Park Village, also in Makati.) Over a hundred Naval officers (some of whom were retired at the time and many more of whom are now retired) were able to acquire titles to the properties they occupied, the very reason why many of them are calling the current eviction "illegal."

The government lost the NOVAI case in the regional trial court and appealed the decision to the Court of Appeal where it remains pending. A check with the CA reveals that the last pleading was a minute resolution warning the appellees, apparently NOVAI, to file an Appellee’s Brief, failing which the case will be deemed submitted for decision.

The point is the case has not yet been finally decided. But its significance and implications we revisit in our next column.