MANILA – Filipino boxing icon Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao ignored calls from health officials to delay his triumphant return to Manila until Tuesday next week due to the swine flu scare.
Instead, Pacquiao called up officials from Los Angeles that he and his party, including his wife, their two sons and his mother, were sticking to their schedule to arrive in Manila Friday morning aboard a Philippine Airlines jetliner.
Earlier, Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd of the Department of Health urged Pacquiao and his party to postpone their return home following a strong advisory from the World Health Organization (WHO) for Pacquiao and his entourage to remain in Los Angeles and observe self-quarantine because the swine flu virus was found to have spread in that American city.
Duque cited the WHO advisory based on a report that Los Angeles had discovered a “third generation human-to-human transmission” of the dreaded disease, now known officially as the A(HINI) flu..
This means, Duque explained, that the index case for the virus had infected another individual who, in turn, had passed it to a third person.
“Since Manny Pacquiao is in Los Angeles, it is better to be conservative,” the health secretary stressed. “Part of our message to them is that beginning today (Thursday), they should not be going out anymore. They should impose self-quarantine.”
But Pacquiao ignored Duque’s message as he pointed out in his message to Manila that he and his group have not experienced symptoms of the dreaded disease, which are similar to those of a common flu’s, like cold, fever and pain in the joints.
Due to the WHO advisory, Malacanang also put on hold its scheduled grand welcome on Friday and joined Duque in urging Pacquiao and his entourage to quarantine themselves in Los Angeles for five days to ensure they will not bring the deadly virus upon their return to the Philippines.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had declared Friday as a national day of celebration to mark the demolition by Pacquiao of his British rival Ricky “Hitman” Hatton during their championship bout at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 2.
Pacquiao knocked out Hatton late in the second round to wrest the light welterweight title from the British champion and firmed up his reputation as the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter.
In the process, Pacquiao also installed himself as one of the world’s ring immortals by becoming a champion in five different weight categories.
Pacquiao’s arrival on Friday also coincides with the arrival of super typhoon “Emong” which is projected to hit land somewhere between the provinces of La Union and Ilocos Sur in Northern Luzon with its center winds of 140 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 170 kph.
This dampened plans of Pacquiao’s supporters to hold a ticker tape parade which will bring him to selected cities in Metro Manila.
But Duque reiterated that Pacquiao and his entourage, especially the boxing champ, will not be accorded VIP treatment upon their arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Friday due to the health measures being implemented to prevent the entry of the swine flu virus into the country.
Duque said Pacquiao and his group will have to undergo the mandatory procedure of going through a thermal scanner at the airport to determine if they have fever, one of the symptoms of the disease.
If they are found to be feverish or showing any other symptoms of the virus, they would be brought to one of the five health facilities for quarantine to determine whether they are infected or not, Duque stressed.
Such health precautions are necessary, Duque said, to ensure that the Philippines remains free of the dreaded disease which has already reached Hong Kong and South Korea, based on the latest WHO report.
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