Get priorities straigh, Pacquiao fight-bound officials told

By TJ Burgonio
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Filed Under: Pacquiao, Boxing, Legislation

MANILA, Philippines—Lawmakers scrambling to book flights to the United States to watch Manny Pacquiao’s fight should heed Malacañang’s advice: Set your priorities right and be sensitive to your calamity-stricken constituents.

“I guess they know what their priorities are. There are pending bills. They should know if they can leave the country or not,” said Undersecretary Lorelei Fajardo Tuesday.

The deputy presidential spokesperson said congressmen should be “sensitive” to their constituents, especially the thousands of calamity victims grappling with the aftermath of several powerful storms.

“They should be sensitive to their constituents especially since elections are just around the corner,” Fajardo told reporters after a briefing in Malacañang.

Pacquiao is gearing up for his Nov. 14 fight with Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas, Nevada. The international boxing champ is heavily favored to snatch the Puerto Rican’s World Boxing Organization’s (WBO) welterweight belt.

As in previous blockbuster fights, where Pacquiao knocked his foes cold in the early rounds, this fight is expected to draw a huge crowd of Manila-based spectators, including lawmakers and government officials.

Already, some 20 lawmakers, including Speaker Prospero Nograles, have flown to the US presumably to watch the fight.

Fajardo said she wasn’t aware if some Cabinet officials had booked flights to watch Pacquiao’s fight, but said that the advice also applied to them.

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“If there’s more work in Manila, [Cabinet members] can always support Manny in some other way. We don’t have to go there,” she told reporters.

Environment Secretary Lito Atienza, whom Pacquiao looks up to as a father, and Deputy National Security Adviser Luis “Chavit” Singson Jr. are Pacquiao’s rah-rah boys from the executive branch and have always attended his fights.

Fajardo said she wasn’t aware if First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo would fly to Las Vegas to watch the fight live, as he had done so in the past.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will be in Singapore that day to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) summit.

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20091104-233933/Get-priorities-straight-Pacquiao-fight-bound-officials-told