By: WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL, MANILA TIMES
Filipino boxing icon and Rep. Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao of Sarangani province on Monday expressed his sympathy on the health and legal problems of his former ally, former President and now Rep. Gloria Arroyo of Pampanga province, saying that the law should be respected and observed in her case.
“Kung anong naayon sa batas sundin natin [We should follow what is stated in the law],” Pacquiao told reporters after he was formally given the rank of lieutenant colonel in the reserve officers corps of the Philippine Army in simple ceremonies held at the Army’s Fort Bonifacio headquarters in Taguig City (Metro Manila).
While Pacquiao refused to elaborate, he said that the legal problems of the former president are better left in the hands of her legal team, stressing that “the law should be upheld and the law should be followed.”
The punching lawmaker also wished Mrs. Arroyo well, saying that he would visit her if his time and schedule permit.
“Unang una, siyempre, kailangang magpagaling siya sa sakit [Of course, first of all, she should recover from her ailments],” Pacquiao said.
Mrs. Arroyo supported Pacquiao in his first quest for an elective position when he ran but lost in the 2007 polls to former congresswoman and now Mayor Darlene Antonino-Custodio of Gen. Santos City.
Pacquiao ran again for Congress in 2010 but for the congressional district of Sarangani and won handily with the support of Mrs. Arroyo.
The Sarangani lawmaker also makes it a point to visit Mrs. Arroyo at Malacañang when she was still president every time he returns to the country after a successful fight abroad.
After his controversial win against his Mexican boxing nemesis, Juan Manual Marquez, Pacquiao was greeted by President Benigno Aquino 3rd on the phone but the Filipino boxer skipped his usual visit to Malacañang when he returned to the country.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao’s being formally given the rank of lieutenant colonel by Army chief Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista officially gave the boxing icon the status of senior officer in the reserve officers corps of the Army amid criticisms from some groups questioning his promotion from staff sergeant.
Section 44 of Republic Act 7077 provides that elected officials and presidential appointees may be commissioned into the reserve force subject to existing rules and regulations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
“He [Pacquiao] is qualified to be granted the rank of lieutenant colonel pursuant to Paragraph 5-b, group 6 of Circular No.4 GHQ [General Headquarters] AFP dated July 5, 2010 which states that a congressman can be granted a rank of lieutenant colonel in the reserve force,” Bautista, in his speech, said.
“Congressman Pacquiao has an honorary doctorate degree on humanities conferred by the Southwestern University in 2009 and this qualifies him to be an officer in the reserve force by that same circular,” he added.
Pacquiao, in his acceptance speech, vowed to take his role and responsibility as new member of the senior corps to higher ground “to compensate for the discomfort I probably caused he Philippine Army family when some personalities questioned by my commissionship as lieutenant colonel.”
He also mentioned names of other elected officials that were granted the same privilege under existing laws, including, among others, Vice President Jejomar Binay, who holds a reservist rank of colonel in the Philippine Marines and Sen. Loren Legarda, a reserve lieutenant colonel in the Philippine Air Force.
While Pacquiao will not likely see any combat action, Bautista said that he hoped the 32-year-old boxer, who has won world titles in a record eight weight classes, would be able to inspire others to enlist.
“He can help in the recruitment of patriotic Filipinos to join the reserve force as we endeavor to build the force into one great component of a world-class army that is a source of national pride,” he said.
Bautista added that Pacquiao could also help implement the Army’s community outreach programs in the countryside.
Pacquiao was enlisted in the reserve forces with a rank of sergeant in 2006, and was promoted to sergeant major three years later as a reward for becoming the world’s best pound-for-pound boxer.
WITH REPORT FROM AFP
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