Pacquiao has given away millions upon millions of dollars the past few years

http://zamboangajournal.blogspot.com/2008/12/pacquiao-serves-generously.html "Filipino fighter, a hero in his native country, shares his wealth among them". Manny Pacquiao is giving. Perhaps, to a fault. His trainer, Freddie Roach, is concerned that Pacquiao will give away all of his money. Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, is sure of it. Prior to coming to Hollywood about six weeks ago to train for Saturday's welterweight fight against Oscar De La Hoya at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Pacquiao gave away food and money in his native Philippines to everyone who got in line. He'd hand them a bag of food, then several bills of cash. The event was depicted on an episode of 24/7, a series produced by HBO, which will televise the fight on pay-per-view. But Arum had witnessed this kind of giveaway long before that in General Santos City, where Pacquiao lives with his wife and four children. "I've seen people lined up outside his house," said Arum, who said Pacquiao has given away millions upon millions of dollars the past few years since making it big. "I've seen it with my own eyes." Pacquiao is very religious. In his mind, this is his calling because of the athletic ability with which he was born. "I believe our mission in this world is not only to make money, but we have a big responsibility," said Pacquiao, who has won world championships in four weight classes and is moving up in weight (to 147 pounds) to fight De La Hoya. "If you get the blessing from God, we are to give some to our people, and especially the poor people." The Philippines, unfortunately, has plenty of those. Not only is Pacquiao a hero to them, he is a hero to those Filipinos fortunate enough to be living a better life in the U.S. The Sunday before Thanksgiving, Pacquiao gave away turkeys to 500 families at Lake Street Park in Los Angeles' Filipino Town. One of those receiving a turkey was Robert Villaflor of Glendale. "Manny is the biggest idol all over the world with the Philippine people," Villaflor said. "He is generous to a fault. People are always coming to him for financial help and are not turned away. Look at him today. He enjoyed giving the turkeys to all these hundreds of families. "I hope for his sake that when he finishes boxing, he'll be wealthy for the rest of his life. I am told that he takes his advice from smart, wealthy people at home." Author Thomas Hauser's 1991 book "Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times" won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award. He said that like Pacquiao, Ali was very big-hearted. "Ali always gave away huge amounts of money," Hauser said Wednesday from Las Vegas. "It often was not wisely and he is OK financially today because his name and image are worth so much that he was able to replenish the coffers." Hauser said that Ali didn't have someone to monitor his money and because of that some of it went to hustlers. He said Pacquiao would be smart to hire "a shrewd businessman who really understands these things" so as to avoid the same fate. "Oscar (De La Hoya) gives away a lot of money to programs, but it is screened very carefully by Golden Boy Promotions," Hauser said. "I think Manny should have something like that in place. Manny could give away every cent that he has and still not make a dent in the problem in the Philippines." Well, Arum said Pacquiao does have "very responsible people in the Philippines" counseling him. But he's not sure it helps deter Pacquiao. "They try to guide him, but he's such a charitable person that they can't always control it," Arum said. And no one is going to control Pacquiao. "I have a big responsibility," said Pacquiao, 29. "All things that I have right now are from God and I have to give them back to the people who need help. "So I believe the more you give, you get. I believe that. That's my heart. That's what I feel. So nobody can change my feelings." Arum, who promoted several of Ali's fights, would never try. Arum believes Pacquiao is a special guy doing special things for people special to him. "Manny keeps referring to God," Arum said. "God touches certain people. And when He touches those people and gives them great ability, they then feel that in response they have to give back. And the only way they can give back is to their fellow human beings. "I know Manny feels that way and I think he's blessed that he has that view about life and his place in the scheme of things. So I'm very, very supportive of any and all kinds of charity that Manny does because I think Manny knows deep down that God will provide. "Muhammad Ali was a very, very generous man and all the writers said, `Oh he's giving away all his money, giving away all his money.' But Muhammad Ali never had a want for material things because God provided. And today Muhammad Ali has material wealth and he still gives to people." Arum is convinced that Pacquiao will indeed dole out all his hard-earned cash. But if Pacquiao leaves the kind of worldwide indelible mark Ali has, Arum is confident Pacquiao will always be in good shape. "He will eventually end up giving it all away, but I really believe people like him and Ali always remain fresh in the minds of people," Arum said. "And they'll never have to want for money." Pacquiao may be generous to a fault, but that's just Manny being Manny. In this case, that's a good thing. (Robert Morales, Staff Writer / Press-Telegram, http://www.presstelegram.com)