MANILA, Philippines?For a few hours, at least, the nightmare they lived through during the onslaught of Tropical Storm ?Ondoy? faded from their memories.

Around 5,000 residents of storm-ravaged Pateros town Sunday jammed the Pateros Coliseum to watch for free a live screening of the Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto fight. They roared as Pacquiao pummeled his foe into submission.

?We just came from a lot of hardships due to the calamity, but we still chose to show this fight because it?s time to celebrate,? Mayor Joey Medina said. ?We came together as a whole town to enjoy this.?

Medina, clad in a black ?Pacman knows? shirt, said viewing the fight was extra special for Pateros residents since 90 percent of the municipality was hit by floods when Ondoy struck on Sept. 25.

Other cities in the southern section of Metro Manila that also showed the bout for free were Muntinlupa and Parañaque, which also suffered from the floods.

At the Pateros Coliseum, which also serves as a cockfighting venue, the fight was shown on a large screen on the second floor and on six 42-inch LCD television sets on the ground floor.

Medina and Vice Mayor Jojo Sanchez threw free cupcakes and bread at the crowd.

The crowd was ecstatic when Cotto?s bloodied face was shown in a close-up after he took a flurry of punches. Later, they booed and laughed as Cotto danced away from danger.

?Finish him off, finish him off!? one woman shouted in Filipino.

?This (fight) is significant because we?re showing that we have recovered,? said Medina, who pleaded for aid after 1,200 families in Pateros were evacuated during the floods. Allison W. Lopez

Free viewing in 6 Manila venues

Some 3,000 people, mostly men, children and mothers with their babies, were treated to a free showing of the Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto fight at a covered court along Rizal Avenue in Sta. Cruz, Manila.

The court can only accommodate 1,500, but none of the spectators minded as they pressed against each other to catch a glimpse of the wide screen.

Carmelita Santos, 48, an employee of the city?s Department of Public Order and Safety, kept shouting through the fight: ?Kill him (Cotto).?

Santos told the Inquirer that she always watched Pacquiao?s fights. She said her father used to be a boxer.

Former presidential peace adviser Avelino Razon Jr. also offered a free viewing for 1,000 people, mostly pedicab drivers, vendors, and mechanics, at his Alternatibong Pagbabago party headquarters in Malate. The crowd received free food.

Police said Manila registered a zero crime rate from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the time when the fight was being shown on a delayed telecast in many homes.

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim also offered free viewings in six different venues, a gesture intended, he said, to show how Filipinos ?respect Pacquiao as a fighter.?

Lim watched the bout at the San Andres Sports Complex.