Philippine Showbiz Today
July 22 - August 7, 2016
Duterte sends off
Philippine Olympians
The
decades-
long tradition that was
interrupted for six years
will be relived today when
newly-installed President
Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte
presides over the send-
off ceremony for the Rio
de Janeiro-bound Filipino
athletes competing in the
Olympic Games August
5 to 21 in that Brazilian
premier City.
“Yeah, the President
is coming to personally
wish our athletes good
luck and boost their
morale,”
Philippine
Sport
Commission
commissioner
Charles
Maxey
assured
last
Thursday
when
he
appeared as guest at the
SCOOP On Air episode
of daily program Tropang
Bistag aired over rdio
station DZEC.
Maxey said it was
special
presidential
assistant Bong Go who
informed PSC Chair Butch
Ramirez
of
President
Duterte’s presence in the
send off rites.
“President
Digong
loves our athletes knowing
that they, among others,
have been serving as
our
country’s
saving
grace from the negative
publicities we’ve been
getting overseas,” Maxey
added.
All presidents from
President Manuel Quezon
down to Gloria Macapagal-
Arroyo had made it one of
their duties to send off and
welcome national sports
delegations leaving and
returning the country to
carry the Philippine flag to
and from all international
competitions
as
the
Southeast Asian Games,
Asian Games and Olympic
Games.
A tradition broken
by ex-President Benigno
Aquino III in the six years of
his administration making
him the only Chief of State
who failed to do so.
Only six of the 10
Filipino Olympic hopefuls
will be on hand though to
receive President DU-30’s
23
SPORTS
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte with the local contingent to the 31st Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
blessing -- Ian Lariba in
tabe tennis, Elaine Alora
in taekwondo, Miguel
Tabuena in golf, Maristella
Torres in athletics, Hydeline
Diaz and Gregorio Colonia
in weightlifting as the four
others who have so far
earned their tickets are
still training overseas in
preparation for the Rio
joust.
They are marathoner
Mary Jay Tabal, boxers
Rodel Ladon and Charlie
Suarez, hurdler Ericson
Cray, who are all in the
United States and will fly
to Rio from there.
No one from the
PSC could be contacted
however the whole day
yesterday by members
of the POC-PSC Media
Group whether they can
cover the Malacanan
proceedings
although
POC vice president Joey
Romasanta told this writer
it is most-likely they won’t
be allowed.
“TV-5 personnel have
been calling us here in
the POC asking how they
can cover the event since
the network is the official
carrier of the Games,”
Romasanta said. “As in
previous occasions it’s the
Palace which decides on
the matter.”
“Sabi ko na lang,
magtiis na muna at least
after six years eh makikita
na ng ating mga ang ating
Pangulo na matagal na
nating di nararanasan,” he
said rather kiddingly.•
Pacquiao’s next fi ght to take place in Las Vegas on Nov. 5
Promoter Bob Arum
hints Nov. 5 would be the
date when Manny Pacquiao
will return to the ring after
consulting with Las Vegas
venues that previously
hosted Pacquiao’s fights.
However, Arum did not
say if Pacquiao is cleared
to fight on that date.
The three venues
that last hosted Pacquiao
include the MGM Grand
Garden Arena, Mandalay
Bay Events Center and the
Tomas and Mack Center,
all in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Arum
previously
mentioned Oct. 15 or
29, but Pacquiao denied
he is set to fight on those
dates as he has to attend
to his numerous duties as
a newly-elected senator.
Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie
Roach also said it’s too
soon for Pacquiao to return
on the dates mentioned by
Arum.
Now the L.A.Times’
Lance Pugmire says Arum
is looking at Nov. 5 fight for
Pacquiao without naming
his next opponent.
Over the past couple
of days, Arum has named
Adrien Broner as front
runner for Pacquiao’s next
fight. Arum said he was
indeed talking to Broner’s
adviser Al Haymon about
the planned fight but
after a couple of days he
announced that Broner is
no longer in the running as
Pacquiao’s next foe. Arum
cited Broner’s exorbitant
purse demand as the
reason for the failed talks.
“The price that Broner
was asking was for, was too
expensive for us. But to say
Broner priced himself out
is not accurate, because
it almost implies that he
asked for a number that
he knew we wouldn’t meet
so he didn’t have to do the
fight. I didn’t think that
was the case. I think he
wanted to do the fight, but
the amount that he was
asking for was something
that we couldn’t afford,”
Arum told Boxing Scene.
Danny Garcia was also
mentioned as a possible
candidate for Pacquiao’s
next fight which Garcia
himself confirmed after his
father reportedly told him
about the offer from Top
Rank. Arum denied ever
talking to Garcia about the
Pacquiao fight.
“I never talked to
Danny Garcia or anybody
connected with Danny
Garcia. So I don’t know
what the f*** he’s talking
about,” Arum told USA
Today. “It’s like mental
masturbation. It really is. I
guess they’re desperate to
get an article written about
them, I don’t know,” he
said
Now, with Broner
and Garcia off of Arum’s
shortlist, only Terence
Crawford and Jessie Vargas
remain in contention for
Pacquiao’s next fight.•
- L. Reyes, Digital
Journals/Philboxing.com
Pacquiao with son Israel as he arrives for a Las Vegas bout in April 2015