Manny, Manny, Manny

Yesterday Sunday, the entire Philippines and the rest of the world was electrified as the country's most-beloved boxer, Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao aka Pacman the Destroyer made history by defeating Ricky Hatton from Manchester, England via TKO on the second round of their highly-anticipated fight in Las Vegas, Nevada. I don't have Pay-Per-View at home so I was monitoring his fight online and it was right around lunch time that news came in announcing Manny's spectacular win.

This victory does not only cement Manny's place in the world's Boxing Hall of Fame but also makes him and his family very wealthy. He can now rename himself MONEY Pacquiao. *joke* Manny is said to have brought the nation together and this morning, on my way to work, I saw on the news stands that he graced the front page of all the major broadsheets and tabloids.

Manny makes me very proud to be a Filipina and I hope he starts thinking of quitting while he's on top of his game. I am so proud of him and want him to be able to take care of himself, his legacy, his family and their future. Now there are talks that he might run for Congress in the 2010 elections and that really makes me cringe. My country is ruled by elite families who have a stronghold in politics. Now that Manny has become part of the "new" elite, he seems to have fallen under the impression that the only way for him to be able to perpetuate himself is to enter the dirty world of Philippine politics. I really hope he decides not to run this time. He already did it the last elections and lost. I hope he gets the hint.

I also hope that he will focus instead on giving back to this country which is truly under his spell. I hope he can show us back the love that has out-poured for him from every single Filipino in the Philippines and beyond. There is really so much that he can do for change if only he will not permit traditional politicians to use his stature to further their own interests. We shall see. We have barely one year to go before election time.