Pacquiao to fight illegal loggers in Mindanao
By Beverly T. Natividad, DJ Yap, Tina Santos
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 06:05:00 03/26/2008
Filed Under: Pacquiao, Boxing, Environmental Issues
MANILA, Philippines—From fighting Mexicans in the boxing ring to combating illegal loggers in Mindanao.
This is the new role Manny Pacquiao has taken on, on top of being the country’s boxing hero.
The newly crowned World Boxing Council super featherweight king and Environment Secretary Lito Atienza Tuesday announced their collaboration in the fight against illegal logging, with Pacquiao heading Task Force Luwas Kinaiyahan (Ligtas Kalikasan), a volunteer group that will go against indiscriminate loggers in Mindanao.
Warning
The two made the announcement at a breakfast meeting at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources before Pacquiao jumped on a motorcade that bore him through the streets of Metro Manila, where thousands of Filipinos hailed him for his hard-fought victory over Mexico’s Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Pacquiao immediately issued a warning to illegal loggers: “Stop your activities ... Don’t wait for us to catch you.”
Pacquiao said that as a “probinsyano” from General Santos City, he had always been against the wanton cutting of trees.
He said illegal logging had been rampant in the Surigao provinces, Davao Oriental and Cotabato.
Illegal logging has also brought misery to his native General Santos, which now experiences bigger floods, where there used to be none, he said.
Different style
Luwas Kinaiyahan was formed last November but Pacquiao’s direct involvement with it had to be deferred so he could train for his fight with Marquez, whom he narrowly beat on points on March 15 to win the WBC title.
“He will have a very active role in the [task force],” said Atienza. “(His) style of leadership with the people is different.”
Apart from the illegal logging problem, Pacquiao also recently shelled out P100,000 for the Tarsier Conservation Program in Bohol province to help protect the world-renowned species.
Last year, Pacquiao also donated P100,000 to the Philippine Eagle Foundation.
‘Idol, idol!’
DENR employees rolled out the red carpet for Pacquiao when he visited their offices. Throngs welcomed him with confetti and loud music.
Not even the sophisticated Makati crowd was immune to his charms.
As the victory motorcade bearing Pacquiao rolled through Makati’s central business district, female office workers in uniforms shrieked like schoolgirls, while smartly dressed executives whipped out their camera phones for snapshots of the smiling, waving boxing idol.
Office workers ran outdoors for a glimpse of the boxer. Others, more reserved, peeked from windows.
“Idol! Idol!” some of the men shouted.
“Get down from there, Manny, and give us a kiss,” a middle-aged woman screamed.
Proud Pinay
Jane Nunag, 38, said seeing Pacquiao in the flesh was a thrill. “I’m proud to be a Filipino because of him,” the high school teacher said.
A disappointed Glenn Mediano only saw Pacquiao’s back as the convoy turned right on Makati Avenue.
“I didn’t know he would pass by here,” the 37-year-old messenger said.
Despite doubts among some of his compatriots that he had really beat Marquez, Pacquiao also received a hero’s welcome in other parts of the metropolis as well.
In Manila, people lined the streets and shouted his name.
Merceditas Jovenir, a 35-year-old street vendor from Tondo, held up photos of Pacquiao.
“I’m very happy to see him because I know he won fair and square,” she said in Filipino.
‘The thorn of Mexico’
Everyone with a cell phone camera simply had to take pictures of the man. In the slums of Road 10 in Tondo, some residents climbed rooftops, toting expensive digital cameras and handy cams.
A placard read: “The Thorn of Mexico.”
Throughout the motorcade in Manila, people greeted Pacquiao with almost nonstop applause, chanting his name or simply shrieking.
The champ waved back with the same hands that knocked Marquez down in the third round of their fight.
Pacquiao rode at the back of a black pickup draped with Philippine flags, while an aide held up his championship belts.
Members of a musical band rode ahead on another truck.
Unlike in his previous victory motorcades, no politician joined Pacquiao on his pickup Tuesday—leaving him alone to bask in the glory of his victory.
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