MACTAN ISLAND?What exactly does an ambassador for ?peace and understanding? do?

Malacañang Tuesday spelled out?though still vaguely?the latest job description of boxing icon Manny Pacquiao under the Arroyo administration.

To begin with, he would grace a basketball tournament pitting government troops against members of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) or rightist rebels, said Press Secretary Cerge Remonde.

?There will be events and activities that will be organized that will center on him as a focal person,? Remonde said in a media briefing here. ?He will be useful as a symbol, as a rallying point for events, which in the process, would involve national unity.?

Special intel aide also

Remonde said Pacquiao would focus on his new job within the next three to four months when he is not yet training for his next bout. During the period, the boxer would go around the country gracing activities promoting national solidarity.

Besides the title of peace envoy, Pacquiao was named ?special assistant on intelligence matters? of Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez on Monday.

Gonzalez said the post would be ?honorary,? meaning the boxer would receive no salary.

Remonde said the idea of a basketball tournament was hatched on Friday when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was originally set to meet with Pacquiao.

Ms Arroyo moved the meeting and the ?national day of celebration? to Monday on the recommendation of the World Health Organization.

Pacquiao and his team had been advised to go on a five-day self-quarantine since they had stayed in Los Angeles where a case of human-to-human transmission of the deadly A(H1N1) flu virus had been recorded.

Riding on the Champ

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said Pacquiao could easily do the job for Gonzalez. ?With all the people adulating him, he can get information.?

Sen. Panfilo Lacson was noncommittal, saying he did not know Pacquiao well enough.

?All I know is that he is good in sports, he?s the best in the world. If he?s appointed as undersecretary for sports, he can do a good job,? Lacson said in Filipino.

But the opposition senator observed that the positions given Pacquiao by the Palace were apparently done because ?everybody wants to jump on the bandwagon.?

?He?s very popular and people idolize him and that?s why it?s understandable that there are those who want to ride on and take advantage of the situation,? Lacson said.

Time for politics

Sen. Manuel Roxas II said he believed Pacquiao would be able to help the government and the country as envoy for peace, especially in Mindanao.

?Many people will listen to him,? Roxas told reporters.

But he said people would have to see for themselves how Pacquiao would be able to contribute as an intelligence officer.

He echoed Lacson?s views that Pacquiao was given such positions because it was ?a time for politics now.?

?Those seeking to run for office are looking for ways to be close to Pacquiao as their endorser,? Roxas said.

Symbol of unity

The senator said Pacquiao should protect his clean and untarnished name. ?If he allows himself to be used, he will be tainted by the corrupt who are coming to him to use him.?

Pacquiao has hinted that he would again run for Congress in next year?s election, much to the dismay of not a few of his fans. He ran and lost in the 2007 elections.

?Right now, he has agreed to be this symbol of unity and of course, we are very grateful for that,? Remonde said. ?But of course, when it comes to his decision to go into politics, that is his own decision. We should all respect him.? With a report from Christine O. Avendaño