Sen. Santiago tells Pacquiao to back off

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago tells Sarangani Representative and boxing champion Manny Pacquiao to back off from the issue of the controversial Reproductive Health bill. AFP FILE PHOTOS

MANILA, Philippines—Back off Manny Pacquiao, just focus on boxing.

This was the advice of Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who even challenged the world boxing champion and now representative of Saranggani province, to a fist fight.

“Suntukan na lang kami [Let’s just slug it out],” Santiago said in jest on Tuesday.

Turning serious, the senator advised Pacquiao not to join the debates on the controversial Reproductive Health Bill, saying that he should rather focus on his sport.

“Huwag mo nang pasukan ito. E kung kaming mga senador, hindi kami pumapasok sa pagboxing pero kung gusto mo e pwede rin [Don’t get yourself involved in this anymore. We senators don’t engage into boxing but if you want, then we may],” Santiago said, reacting to Pacquiao who sided with the Catholic Church in opposing the RH bill.

Santiago also lectured the people’s champ when he interpreted the Bible literally when he used the quote “Go out and multiply” to defend his position against the RH bill.

“May I just make a point of grammar please? The Bible does not say, ‘Go out to the world.’ It sounds very much like God is encouraging us to go out and copulate in public,” she said.

“God said in the Bible, ‘Go forth and multiply.’ That meant that God wanted man, not necessarily to literally multiply, but to go out to work with the rest of the human beings of this planet and to apply the stewardship theory. Meaning to say, taking care of each other, who are all in the planet living together,” she pointed out.

Besides, Santiago explained that the Bible was not written by God and not even by any of the eyewitnesses to God since she said it was written at least 70 years after the death of Jesus Christ.

“They are quoting Jesus … but none of them were living when he was around plus they’re quoting God but the Bible says no one has ever seen God. In fact, if we claimed to have seen God, as I said, you are in urgent need of psychiatric care,” she further said.

Asked if she was threatened by the popularity of Pacquiao, Santiago said, “I don’t think so, this is a literate country.”

“We know, we can see, that he knows more about boxing than possibly anybody alive particularly in the welterweight department, which is considered to be “the” boxing title. But still, we cannot be know-it-alls. It will be very misleading to use his celebrity status to enter into, what is after all, a great debate on the political economy,” the senator added.

Santiago is one of those pushing for the passage of the RH bill.