By Ronnie Nathanielsz
“LET Manny [Pacquiao] train first, because he has a big fight to think about.”
This was the message of Ali Atienza, chairman of the Manila Sports Council and presidential assistant on youth and sports yesterday to those speculating about Filipino ring idol Pacquiao planning to run for vice mayor of Manila, with him as the mayoralty candidate.
Atienza, son of popular Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, who is a key administration supporter, said: “Manny is not commenting, I am not commenting because as of now, I am just going to work. We are just laughing at the issue as of now.”
The young Atienza was an Asian taekwondo champion in 1994 and was cited by both the Philippine Sportswriters Association and the Sports Communicators Organization of the Philippines that same year.
Pacquiao arrived in Manila yesterday from his hometown of General Santos City, where he plays basketball with his neighborhood friends on a daily basis as one of the ways to stay fit.
The boxing champ, laughed off the excitement created by his plan to transfer as a registered voter from GenSan to Manila and speculation that he would be the vice mayoralty candidate of Atienza. Pacquiao reiterated he planned to concentrate on his various business enterprises and his family.
