By Ronnie Nathanielsz

Filipino national treasure Manny Pacquiao said yesterday he hopes “the Lord will help me so that the Filipino people especially the politicians will hear my voice and will answer our call for unity.”

In an overseas telephone conversation with Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today while driving to Los Angeles from Las Vegas, Pacquiao reiterated his plea for national unity and expressed the hope that as the nation united behind him in his battle with legendary Mexican Erik “El Terrible” Morales and shared in the joy of his victory, they would carry that unity into everyday national life.

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In an earlier interview with Chino Trinidad on GMA 7 “Live” from Las Vegas, Pacquiao  said “if I have to fight every day to help our people become united, I will” repeating his appeal for national unity several times even as he thanked Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and First Gentleman Mike Arroyo and “ every Filipino for their support and their prayers.”

Pacquiao told Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today that President Arroyo has always been “sincere” in her support for him and that he had reciprocated with “respect and affection” for the President. 

Pacquiao stressed his joy was even greater “because we were all together” for the fight and that “those who didn’t even know each other shook hands and enemies became friends. I want to be a champion in the hearts of my countrymen” reiterating “ If I have to fight every day for us to become one, I will.”

In a light-hearted moment during the conversation Pacquiao wanted to know whether his English during the post fight press conference was good and as though to accentuate his ability to handle the language said “I did a great job didn’t I?” He said “ I made a tremendous sacrifice to help unite the Philippines” and then asked “was everybody watching the fight?” When told that thousands packed the malls to watch the fight “live” on a pay-per-view basis Pacquiao said he was happy to learn that among them were WBC founding secretary general Rudy Salud, former Senator Ramon Revilla and several justices.

Pacquiao said he owed trainer Freddie Roach “a lot” and indicated “we didn’t tell anybody  what our plan for the fight was” even as he said “there was a lot of improvement” in the use of his right which did much of the damage with solid body shots that wore down Morales.  Pacquiao said he was looking forward to his return on Friday and a round of celebrations but was keen on “taking a good rest, spending time with my family and friends before thinking of the next fight.”