THE Pacman may not have the political chest – a machinery that other seasoned contenders so boastfully claim to possess, but make no mistake for he has long made a name on every household that no other politicians, with all their might and machinery, had done.
Pacquiao is already a household name. The good Senator Manny Pacquiao need not pour out anymore millions in ad placement just to secure upon the minds of public a recall of name that other candidates badly need. It will be a huge mistake to underestimate the man and think that he has no chance of winning when he is way up ahead in name recall and fame. I would argue that there’s no Filipino home that knows not of Manny Pacquiao. He’s way popular than Marcos. More famous than Duterte.
It could be, prophetically, that the man of Destiny in him had providentially paved the path towards that specific purpose – to lead this nation in times such as this. Could this be the reason Manny Pacquiao is phenomenally popular? If Manny Pacquiao is the man of the hour, and is unusually inspiring the masses because of his extraordinary feats and victories, through which he placed the country and his people on the same place of honor, that he is the man who has proven unmatched capability and leadership – winning abilities that beats real life challenges, why not the presidency? In which an ordinary Filipino citizen beyond the age of 40, that can read and write, is arguably fit for the post in a democracy.
A Champion, the Manny Pacquiao that this country has produced no doubt fits more than the criteria our laws and electoral processes have defined. Clearly, the ordinariness of the criteria for our candidates has been intentionally crafted so for no other reason but this: because it is, in fact, the very essence of democracy – the ordinary and the greater public majority. If for the reason that Manny Pacquiao is a nobody because he speaks no good English like that of BBM or any other candidate that has the command of the language to articulate ideas and thoughts, then we have a problem with our democracy.
The only challenge Manny Pacquiao that he and his supporters need to work hard now is to translate his phenomenal popularity into votes. Manny Pacquiao is already on the winning edge; he only needs to secure it.