MANILA – Members of a rich and influential family in Mindanao served notice they would not allow Filipino boxing icon Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao to grab a congressional seat which they have held for years without a fight in the May 2010 elections.
Former governor Priscilla Chiongbian of Sarangani, the matriarch in the family, disclosed they have chosen her son Roy Chiongbian to deliver the knockout punch on Pacquiao in their one-on-one fight for the lone congressional seat of the province in next year’s local and national polls.
Roy is the youngest brother of incumbent Sarangani Congressman Erwin Chiongbian who is barred by law from seeking reelection because he is now on his third and final term.
Family members also describe Roy, a top executive of the Mindanao-based shipping firm, is said to be the “gatekeeper” of the vast Chiongbian business empire involving in shipping, real estate, agriculture and others.
Priscilla said that among the family members, Roy has the best chance of defeating Pacquiao who confirmed he is running for congressman of Sarangani in the 2010 elections under his own political party, the People’s Champ Movement.
Pacquiao does not hide the fact that he is banking on his fame and fortune to wrest the congressional seat which the Chiongbians have held for years.
Even Chiongbian loyalists in Sarangani admit that Pacquiao is a strong contender, citing his popularity and wealth. In the latest issue of the US business magazine “Forbes,” Pacquiao was adjudged as one of the 10 highest-paid athletes of the world in 2009, earning a total of $40 million in the past 12 months.
However, the Chiongbians and their party leaders believe that Roy could beat Pacquiao, especially when they face each other one-on-one in the May 2010 polls.
“The fact that Pacquiao transferred residence to Sarangani from General Santos City indicates that he believes he will have easy sailing in his congressional bid,” a source inside the Chiongbian camp, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. “But he is in for a big surprise because the Chiongbians will not deliver that seat to him on a silver platter.”
The source cited as an example the case when Pacquiao, then already a world champion, first made his initial venture into politics by running against reelectionist Congresswoman Darlene Antonino-Custodio of South Cotabato province in the May 2007 polls.
Custodio, also the heiress of a rich and politically powerful family in South Cotabato which includes General Santos City, defeated Pacquiao by more than 50,000 votes.
A ranking Catholic leader, Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez of the diocese of Marbel, agreed, saying that Pacquiao will have a problem in winning in Sarangani because of his lack of credibility and the “gambler friends” that he keeps.
Interviewed over the Church-run Radio Veritas, Gutierrez said Pacquiao’s popularity and excellence in boxing would not be enough to make him become a member of the House of Representatives.
“In our diocese, we follow the three Cs – credibility, commitment and competence,” the bishop pointed out. “In the 2007 elections, Pacquiao still had credibility and he was committed to the Filipino people, especially the poor, but he had no competence and that is the reason why he lost.”
Today, Gutierrez said that Pacquiao’s credibility is being questioned, particularly with the company he keeps, who are gamblers. But he did not elaborate.
He added that if Pacquiao really wants to help the people, he should forsake politics and instead set up a foundation to help the poor in Mindanao regarding their health, employment, education and other needs, especially now that the country is being buffeted by the worsening global economic and financial turmoil.
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