Taken for a ride

Did you enjoy the ride?

Manny Pacquiao took the public, his supporters, Solar Sports, GMA-7 and of course, ABS-CBN for a wild rollercoaster ride over three days, and we all bit into it hook, line and sinker, thinking he was sincere.

In the aftermath of his “return” to his original contract with Solar Sports, Pacquiao is saying everything’s okay.

Is this a portent of things to come from someone who proclaims he wants to serve the Filipino people in Congress?

Now, some observers and the man on the street are looking for someone to blame. In general, the public seems to just be relieved that this distraction is over, particularly after reports that Pacquiao did not train Friday (in the US) and he was supposedly underweight for this stage of his training.

Let’s look back at the facts.

Pacquiao had been expressing his desire to transfer back to ABS-CBN for at least months. That has been proven and attested to by journalists and others he himself told. Top management of Solar Sports, wanting to accommodate him, met with top management of ABS-CBN weeks ago to work it out. But according to reports, Solar was thinking of buying airtime on ABS-CBN, while the network had in mind a complete buy-out of the fight. No deal was made. Remember, too, that according to Solar, they only signed the airtime deal with GMA last Tuesday.

Pacquiao appeared on TV Patrol Wednesday.

This firmly establishes that, whatever Pacquiao may say from this point on, he wanted to move to ABS-CBN, and in fact instigated the move.

Pacquiao sent a vaguely-worded letter to Solar, claiming fault in payments. His letter did not specify which payments, and for which fight. Solar’s people agreed that the 21-day period for computing and paying out all the other revenues outside of the actual fight was difficult to do within 21 days, which probably affected the payments for the Oscar dela Hoya fight. But that was not specified in Pacquiao’s complaint.

Pacquiao made two announcements on international television that he was moving to ABS-CBN, and that it was his choice. Unfortunately, he never followed legal protocol in demanding for the alleged late payment, and never sent previous written notice to give Solar the necessary time to resolve it. The sloppiness with which Pacquiao handled the matter indicates either of two things: He either orchestrated the affair to get some unspecified leverage against Solar, or he’s embarrassingly unaware of legal protocol and made decisions without consulting anyone.

All the commotion he created sent educated, accomplished, self-respecting businessmen and network executives scurrying to LA like errand boys trying to appease their master. That couldn’t have been a good feeling. Maybe they should deduct their travel expenses from all his advances.

So what happens next?

Without trying to sound cynical, it will be business as usual for Pacquiao, who will be the only one to come out of this unscathed, it seems. And he was able to get into the sports headlines and barber shop conversations for free again. Talking out of both sides of his mouth, he has played on the fact that he is bulletproof and untouchable for now, as a ring icon who symbolizes hope for millions of people, whom, incidentally, he has just caused quite a bit of anxiety.

For everyone else who realizes what he just did, it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. He played everyone like a fiddle. And they can’t do anything about it. After all, what judge would take on a case against Manny Pacquiao? Who would prosecute motherhood?

Of course, GMA-7 will promote the hell out of the Hatton fight because it is a calling card event. And ABS-CBN will cover developments through its Europe and North American news bureaus and in the Philippines, as professional journalists should. The newspapers will provide even more exposure. And the public will ignore this little hiccup, dimly content with the fact that their hero is back on track with his fight, which is all that matters. After all, he’s Manny Pacquiao; he can’t do anything wrong, can he? And who are we to question anything he does? The public will love him, no matter his faults. And after May 2, they probably won’t even remember this episode.

No harm done?