Manny Pacquiao gestures as he speaks to the crowd during one of his campaign sorties.
A commissioner of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has expressed hopes that Sarangani representative and incoming Sen. Manny Pacquiao will always attend sessions of the Senate and not be a top absentee.
Asked for her message to new senators, Commissioner Rowena Guanzon said that with Pacquiao hanging his boxing gloves after his win over Timothy Bradley, Filipinos might be able to see him more frequently inside the halls of the Senate.
“Si Senator Manny Pacquiao halos retired na siya sa boksing, huwag na kayong mag-alala. Alam ko namang di siya mag-aabsent lagi. Binoto siya ng tao, malaki po ang hinahangad ng tao sa kanya lalo na’t Kristiyano siya. Kaya abangan natin si Senator Pacquiao,” Guanzon told reporters on Wednesday.
According to partial, official tally released by Comelec, sitting as National Board of Canvassers, on Monday, Pacquiao is in 7th place with 15,735,079 votes.
The boxer turned legislator was heavily criticized for being a top absentee in the House of Representatives where he represents the province of Sarangani. In 2014, he only clocked in four session days.
Meanwhile, Guanzon asked the newly elected senators to work hard for the electorate who voted for them.
“Nakakatuwa di ba, there are new faces in the Senate, mga bata di ba?” she said.
“I advise them to study very hard and work very hard for the Filipino people. I have no doubt they will do an excellent job.”
According to the NBOC’s canvass report released on Monday, other senatorial candidates who are set to join Pacquiao in the winning circle are: Franklin Drilon, Joel Villanueva, Vicente Sotto III, Panfilo Lacson, Richard Gordon, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Risa Hontiveros, Francis Pangilinan, Sherwin Gatchalian, Ralph Recto, and Leila de Lima.
The Comelec has set the proclamation of the winning senators and party-list groups on Thursday, May 19.
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