The Day Stops In The Philippines

(The New York Times) - Manny Pacquiao, a championship super featherweight boxer, is largely known as a uniting force in his native Philippines. When he fights, it has been said, the streets clear, crime drops and people gather around their televisions.

But when Pacquiao recently announced that he would run for a congressional seat in the district where he grew up, the move caused ambivalence: Many people, including fans, have questioned the decision. Pacquiao, 28, received his high school equivalency diploma this year in the Philippines, and some wonder what he would bring to office.

"We've already noticed how many of his fans are against his decision to run," said Earl Parreno, a political analyst at the Manila-based Institute for Popular Democracy. "I think he will lose, because while he is popular, he cannot provide an answer to the one thing that most Filipino voters demand from their candidates: What's in it for us?"

In the ring, Pacquiao faces a more immediate obstacle. He will put his World Boxing Council international super featherweight title on the line tonight in San Antonio against Jorge Solis. The fight will be televised on a pay-per-view basis.

The combination of the fight and the impending May 14 election have created controversy in the Philippines. A lawyer for the political party of Pacquiao's opponent, the incumbent, Darlene Antonino-Custodio, recently petitioned to stop the fight from being televised in the Philippines, citing election laws meant to prevent a candidate from having an unfair publicity advantage.

Filipino fight fans opposed the move, and the election commission ruled the bout could be televised. But the commission stipulated that Pacquiao could not discuss politics during television promotions for the fight.

Still, he has found a way to get his political message out. He is doing it through his promoter, Bob Arum, who said he planned to visit the Philippines to help the campaign and said he would distribute political posters and buttons before the fight.

They have their work cut out for them. Among the criticism of Pacquiao's decision to run for office is a chain e-mail message written by Kristine Rose, a 19-year-old student at the University of the Philippines.

"He is that generous man who shares his blessings to others," the e-mail message read. "But does it mean that he could also be a successful politician? Will he be a uniting agent amid all the contradictions that occur in this country? Or does he even know what he has gone into?" ...full story here