July 1 - 15 , 2017 PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY 9
durianrepublic by JJ Atencio
I admit it . I ’ m a Manny Pacquiao fan . I like underdogs you see , because you don ’ t see them coming and when they do , they force a disruption in the social caste .
I ’ ve only met Manny once , to be honest , some years ago when he was still Congressman . We were waiting for our respective cars at the curbside of the domestic airport and i got to chat with him . I thought he was pretty decent and friendly , soft spoken and a bit shy even . And I didn ’ t notice any swarm of body guards around that one would expect from a celebrity-politician .
The thing with our society is that we don ’ t expect much from people like Manny Pacquiao . Abandoned by his father at a young age and raised by a single mom , he grew up poorer than poor and didn ’ t have much schooling . He had to peddle in the streets to bring money home , and later , took up menial laborer jobs . And despite a successful career in boxing , he never really trained as an amateur boxer .
In other words , people like Manny Pacquiao , who started life with so much social deficit , are not expected to succeed . And so , when he does and disrupts the social order , and the world elevates him to iconic status , his countrymen suddenly take notice and vote him into power .
That is until he starts
losing .
In the Philippines it seems , you can love a winner but still not accept him . Or , in Manny ’ s case , when he starts speaking about his political views contrary to what a small colorful minority group think . Then , no matter how successful , famous and rich one has become , true colors show and becomes apparent when they start hitting him when he ’ s down . It ’ s ironic that in Manny ’ s recent loss , his most ardent supporters are his global fans ; while some Filipinos are rejoicing in his loss because of his politics . And they think Manny deserves no support and deserves to lose in the ring because of his politics . What ’ s really telling is that if Manny espoused the same politics as these people have , he would continue to be admired
PACFAN
and given adulation .
For me , I ’ ve made my peace with Manny advocacies . His statements about LGBT in the issue of gay marriage , for example , is not offensive to me because Manny Pacquiao is not racist . He was just being stupid . And you can change stupidity . I like it that the people ’ s champ now represents the people in the Senate . I like that the southern language “ bisaya ” can now be heard in those hallowed halls . I like it because the presence of people like Manny Pacquiao makes Philippine politics more and more inclusive .
And that ’ s what underdogs do . Their mere presence changes the order of things . In some ways , they embody the discomfort felt by people who want the status quo to prevail . Manny Pacquiao has been criticized , inspite of his success : his education , his eloquence , even his taxes , but it could very well be just a mechanism for these people to cope with their own failures . Manny ’ s life story from nothing to something forces us to examine our own lives and to see how we can better ourselves despite the hand that life has dealt us . I ’ ve always thought the Manny Pacquiao is inspiring because he proves that , no matter how we are born , you cannot keep a good man down when he decides to better himself . And he and many others like him will continue to uplift their life inspite of what we think .
Win or lose , let ’ s root for underdogs . They are the real agents of change .
BBB Warns ...
information .” BBB offers tips when it comes to giving :
* Always give to organizations you are comfortable with and have given to in the past .
* Check with the Canada Revenue Agency to see if it is a legitimate charitable organization .
* Donate with a credit card or online portals such as PayPal . * Avoid donating cash . * If online , check the website URL for https :// ( the ‘ s ’ means the site is secure and the information is encrypted ). Look for the ‘ lock ’ icon in the URL as well .
* Ask a lot of questions of those asking for money or articles .
* Do they understand the organization ’ s mission and vision ?
* Ask for identification and contact numbers . * Do they offer tax receipts ? * Be very wary of ‘ crowdfunding ’ portals as ways to raise money . These are very quickly and easily set up and have been fronts for scams in the past . They are NOT registered charities .
* Most charitable organizations do not solicit door to door .
* Avoid being pressured to give money .
* Keep your emotions in check ; con artists strike when emotions
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are running high .
* Delete any questionable emails and pop-ups soliciting for donations .
* Check with your local government if they are actively collecting money or donations .
The Red Cross is responding to meet the needs of communities affected by the fires by ( From redcross . ca ):
* Providing registration services on behalf of the Province of B . C . and encouraging ALL evacuees to register with them .
* Registering will help us know where everyone is and that they ’ re safe . It will also allow us to contact people directly as more information and assistance become available . It also allows us to help reunite families separated by the disaster .
* Activating its disaster response volunteers .
* Having additional volunteers and supplies pre-positioned across the country ready to be deployed , if needed .
For more information on what the Red Cross is doing and how you can help , go to redcross . ca ( bbb . com )
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