Of Mothers and Manny

Manny's glorious moment

I just can't allow this week to pass without writing about Manny. I am referring to "the people's champ" Manny Pacquiao. Despite the many things that I need to do during these times. If I may mention it here, as of this writing, I am on the process of moving to a new place and I just don't feel like updating this blog; but then, I have to. That's life.

Life can be unforgiving at times; but in-spite of that, there are still a lot of things that we have to be thankful for. Here in the Philippines, and elsewhere around the globe, Filipinos are still euphoric with Manny's triumph over challenger, Shane Mossley. I think that it was not a coincidence that he had to add another laurel to long list of achievements on the same day that we normally reserve to honor the most important women in our lives--our mothers. It was neither a coincidence that Manny Pacquiao have a doting and adoring mother.

Browsing through my social networking sites on that day, I couldn't help but noticed that the words "mothers" and "pacquiao" dominated the posts and shout-outs. I, for one, twitted the following, "The strength of a nation depends on the strength of its mothers. Mothers are nation builders! Happy mother's day to all mothers!!" Who would ever forget, Manny's own mother,  Aling Dionisia Pacquiao. Manny's meteoric rise to stardom would not have been complete without his mother's presence. The fact that his mother had to tend for her children all by her lonesome because her husband abandon her and their children is not lost on us. I can always remember everyone's consternation when Manny's limelight-grabbing mom would faint in front of the national television during his every fight. But, we can only be annoyed; we can never fathom her feelings as a  mother. 

Some of us may be mothers too and probably would understand her. I have heard someone said, we can never truly understand unconditional love, unless we become mothers. A mother feeds her child out of pure love without expecting anything in return. She has been, in fact, a subject of so much unsavory comments and insults. A doctored picture of her portraying in undesirable position circulated through the internet once. This is not the kind of tribute we want to offer to one of the greatest mothers of our time. Whatever her failures and misgivings are, Aling Dionisa have taught us something parental experts could ever teach us. Don't we think we need more mothers like her? Again, mothers are nation-builders. They bring us good people like Manny Pacquiao. 

So what with Manny Pacquiao? I admire him for all the good qualities that he imbibes on and off the ring. Later that afternoon, I twitted the following, "Ask Manny Pacquiao what he thinks of his last fight,for sure you wud hear a few/all of the ff-I did my best to make the people happy #pacman. Now, don't asked me why he is such a great fighter!!!! #pacman" Persons with no delusions of grandeur are hard to come by nowadays. Manny is just one of the very few. 

Every time Manny fights and wins, I can't but shed a few drops of tears, which I cannot explained so well. I never know him personally and I never have any stakes in his winnings. I don't intend to know how much he earns from pay-per-view or anything at all about earnings. These are the least of my concerns. I don't even care if Paris Hilton is coming with him to the Philippines. 

What  I do know is that he has an affinity with all of us who know poverty and hard work. Manny knows poverty like the back of his hand, yet one could never see a trace of bitterness  in him. He tells for all the world to know that he worked as a construction worker to help support his family. That's a fact. He does not have to blame anyone about it. We did not hear him grumble at how wretched his life was He did not blame the government or the public officials about it. What did he do? He rose up and met the challenge with strong resolve to fight his poverty because he knew that there is nothing honorable or pious in being poor. God did not want humans to be poor and needy, that's why He made available to humans all the necessary faculties, knowledge and resources. Manny was able to use them properly and to his advantage. 

Manny was not able to finish schooling at a normal age. He was never taught the rudiments of rhetoric and public speaking but he speaks rather convincingly just as well though his speech would falter most of the time. His candor and honesty have been widely appreciated.  A commentator on the most recent game even noticed that by telling his partner how candid Manny is; and he said,  "You ask him a question, he gives you an answer." He never makes himself the center of adulation but always offers his triumphs to his God, his country and his people. In him, I see a man who has given so much for his country but asks so little from it. 

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Copyright © 2011 by Leonel Agir