Sen. Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao (Joseph Vidal/Senate PRIB)
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Manny Pacquiao on Friday chided Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, a self-proclaimed “Appointed Son of God,” for spreading “fabricated” claims against him.
“Hindi ko nga alam bakit nangangaral ka ng salita ng Panginoon tapos ganyan ka? Hindi ganyan si Jesus Christ,” Pacquiao said in an interview on dzBB.
(I do not know whey he preaches the word of God but acts that this way. Jesus is not like that.)
“Hindi ako nakikipagaway pero nililinaw ko lang yung side ko,” he added, citing Quiboloy’s supposed claims against Pacquiao’s project in Sarangani with a purported price tag of P3.5 billion.
(I’m not picking a fight, I’m just airing my side.)
Evangelist Apollo Quiboloy of Kingdom of Jesus Christ. INQUIRER file photo / GRIG MONTEGRANDE
Pacquiao represented the province in the lower chamber of Congress before becoming a senator.
“Si Quiboloy, biro mo sabihin ba naman na may project akong P3.5 [billion], tapos ang kinunan ng mga tao ni Quiboloy, gumagawa sila ng fabricated story, yung kinunan, yung building na 1996 pa itinayo. Pero hindi kinunan yung mga bagong building na nagawa,” Pacquiao explained.
(Quiboloy claimed that I had a 3.5 billion project. They took shots of Quiboloy’s people, they made a fabricated story, they showed a photo of a building built in 1996, but did not show the new building constructed.)
“Pero ang budget doon, hindi P3.5 billion. Actually, ang budget talaga, nasa mga P350 million to 400 million or pinaka-maximum na P500 million. ‘Yun ‘yung training center ng Sarangani, yung may batas. Hindi P3.5 [billion ang budget],” he added.
(The budget for that building is not P3.5 billion, but around P350 million to P400 million, maybe a maximum of P500 million. That’s the training center of Sarangani, as legislated. he budget is not P3.5 billion.)
Pacquiao recently drew the ire of President Rodrigo Duterte and his allies after the senator criticized the administration’s “lacking” stance on the country’s maritime dispute with China and flagged corruption within the government.
The senator, however, already clarified that he is not trying to attack the President after criticizing government corruption under the current administration.
He said he is just helping the Chief Executive crack down on corrupt officials.