Image: Instagram/@mannypacquiao
MANILA, Philippines—Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo took a jab at Senator Manny Pacquiao and told the boxer to stop criticizing President Rodrigo Duterte.
Speaking in his commentary show Counterpoint, Panelo alluded that Pacquiao is taking the same stand as opposition senators regarding the territorial dispute between the Philippines and China after Chinese vessels continue to encroach into the country’s exclusive economic zone near Palawan.
“Sabi mo si Presidente dapat ipanindigan nya posisyion nya sa West Philippine Sea, nakukulangan ka, yun din linya ng mga kasama mo na matagal na nating sinasabi pinipilit ho nila,” said Panelo.
(You said the president needs to be firm on his position, that you find it lacking, well that’s also the line of your colleagues in the Senate who’ve been trying to ram through the issue.)
Pacquiao, an ally of Duterte and serves as the president of their party Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), said on Monday that he found the President’s position on the territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea “lacking.”
“Sa akin, nakukulangan ako, nakukulangan ako kumpara doon sa bago pa siya tumakbo, nage-eleksyon pa lang. Dapat ipatuloy niya yun para magkaroon din naman tayo ng respeto [galing sa China],” said Pacquiao.
(For me, I find it lacking. I find it lacking compared to how he was before he ran for President. He should have continued that so that we get some respect.)
Panelo added that this was also Pacquiao’s way of boosting his stock for the 2022 elections, which he said the senator should stop at as it is “not yet his time.”
The former presidential spokesman told Pacquiao that the administration’s bets for the executive posts revolve around three people—Duterte, his daughter Sara, and aide Sen. Bong Go.
“Senator Manny this is not your time at yung sinasabi mong na pag di tumakbo mawawala na kasikatan mo, di totoo yun, palagi ka nang sikat, legend ka nga eh,” said Panelo of Pacquiao’s status as one of the best boxers in history.
(Senator Manny, this is not your time and what you’re telling us that if you’re not going to run, then your fame will go down is not true. You’re always famous; you’re already a legend.)