Manny’s lighter side

At dinner in a New York restaurant last week, Manny Pacquiao was in a good mood.

Manny sat at the head of the table. To his right was wife Jinkee. To his left was friend and interpreter Joseph Ramos, sitting beside his wife Joanna. Others in the table were trainer Freddie Roach, lawyer Keith Davidson, another lawyer Nicholas Khan and his girlfriend Mandy.

The conversation around the table was light and lively. It was Sunday night and the trial on Manny’s landmark case against New Jersey promoter Murad Muhammad was scheduled to start the next morning.

Since Joe and Joanna were married only last April, naturally the talk centered on loving couples.

Joe was born in the Philippines and migrated to the US with his family when he was seven. He played on the freshman varsity team at Creighton University with Kyle Korver, now starring for the Philadelphia 76ers, and later joined the ICTSI squad in the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) for a conference in 1999.

Joe said he hardly got to play in the PBL and remembers RenRen Ritualo as the team’s main man.

Joe and Joanna Dizon met about two years ago. She was in Manila and Joe was visiting from the US. Joe was supposed to stay only a month but after meeting Joanna, ended up staying seven months.

Joanna, who has appeared in several TV commercials, often visits the US, particularly Washington, D.C. where she has relatives. Her family owns the popular Harbor View Restaurant at the Luneta.

Joe and Joanna make a handsome couple, just like Manny and Jinkee who’ve been married now for six years.

Jinkee Jamora, one of five children, used to work as a beauty consultant for a brand of face cream at a General Santos City department store.

When Manny met Jinkee and asked her out for dinner on their first date, she turned him down. But he was persistent. Manny would follow her to work and visit her at home until he finally won her heart.

Manny and Jinkee now have two boys.

When Manny was away from home training in Los Angeles for Erik Morales early this year, he had pictures of Jinkee and their sons tacked on the headboard of his bed in his apartment.

Philosophizing about love, Manny said there are three reasons why people fall in love–love for money, love because of physical attraction ("init ng katawan," in his words) and love for always.

Manny said his love for Jinkee is for always.Asked to describe Manny as a husband, Jinkee said only one Word–perfect.

"O, walang takutan ‘yan," beamed Manny.

Joe has been more than a friend to Manny during the trial. He interprets for Manny, sitting beside him in the courtroom. And outside the courtroom, he does a lot of things for Manny’s lawyers, like making sure documents and records are on hand from various sources in the Philippines.

Joe arrived in Manila with Davidson and Manhattan litigator Judd Burstein a few weeks ago. While Davidson and Burstein spent only a night in town, Joe stayed several days, collating papers necessary for the trial. He left for the US with Manny last June 12, spent a night in Los Angeles, then they flew to New York for the trial.

Two Filipinos whom Manny met in New York were Kish Cachola and Nepomuceno (Bong) Reyes.

Cachola, 23, is a lab technician from Jersey City. He’s an avid Manny fan. Las Vegas is now his second home, he said, because he makes sure he’s at ringside whenever Manny fights in the world’s entertainment capital. When Manny fought Fahsan 3-K Battery in Taguig last December, Kish flew to Manila to watch the bout.

Kish traces his roots to Imus, Cavite. He migrated to the US with his family when he was 12.

On Manny’s first day of trial, Kish was in the gallery. "I just want to show my support for Manny," he said.

During a break in the court sessions, Kish walked up to Manny and introduced himself. They had never met before. And Manny thanked one of his biggest fans for always being there for him.

Reyes, 49, works in the graveyard shift at the Overlook Hospital in Summit, New Jersey, and his daytime job is acting as a court interpreter. He was contacted by Burstein’s staff to stand by as a Filipino interpreter for Manny’s trial.

Reyes is one of only two registered Filipino interpreters in New Jersey. He has lived in the US since 1987. Reyes, who is from Aparri, took up seminars and courses, primarily at Union Community College, to establish his credentials as a "journeyman" interpreter. He said the first level of interpreter is conditional, the second is journeyman and the third is master.

Reyes said an interpreter’s pay is $200 for at least four hours’ work in a day or $60 an hour for less than four hours.

One of his recent court cases involved three Filipino seamen charged with perjury for claiming they had no knowledge of waste spillage into New York waters while sailing in their Greek ship. Another involved the murder of a male beauty technician who was suspected of having an affair with a woman and killed by the jealous husband.

When Manny bought lunch at a rolling food store on Foley Square near the courthouse last week, he was recognized by the Latinos behind the counters. "Hey, champ, hey, Manny," the fans called out.

Manny Pacquiao isn’t just a hero in his countrymen’s eyes. For what he accomplished for boxers of all ethnic origins and weight divisions in winning the case over Muhammad, he’s now a hero to the rest of the world, too.