Sen. Manny Pacquiao reminisced and talked about how his life was back then when he was younger, and still wasn’t the boxing champ and politician that he is today.
Pacquiao recalled his difficult past in the recent episode of Willie Revillame’s GMA Network show, “Wowowin,” as seen on the program’s YouTube channel on Feb. 12.
“Sa totoo lang, galing kami sa walang-wala. Wala kaming sariling tahanan. Naranasan ko matulog sa gilid lamang ng kalye. Yung mga natutulog diyan sa bangketa na sapin ang karton, naranasan ko po ‘yan,” Pacquiao recalled.
(The truth is, we came from having absolutely nothing. We didn’t have our own home. I’ve experienced sleeping on the pavement of the street. [See] those who sleep on sidewalks with just cartons on their back? I’ve experienced that.)
Food was also scarce, and to survive, Pacquiao and his family just drank water. So he decided that he wants to help his family and he became the breadwinner.
“Nangarap ako na umasenso sa buhay, dasal sa Panginoon at sipag lang,” he said. (I dreamt of being successful in life, just pray to God and persevere.)
When asked how he got into boxing, the People’s Champ said he was driven to it by the prize money.
“Hindi ko naman alam itong boxing kasi nagkataon lang na may boxing event sa GenSan. Nag-participate ako kasi nabalitaan ko may premyo. Ang premyo noon is P50 lang sa isang fight,” he recalled.
(I didn’t know anything about boxing, it just so happened that there was a boxing event in Gen. Santos. I participated because I learned about the prize. The prize then was just P50 for each fight.)
He also talked about a part of his life which involved a younger sibling.
“Can you imagine, ‘yung kapatid ko, ‘yung si Cong. Ruel, maliit pa ‘yan, bata pa. Hindi nakakaintindi kung sabihin mo, ipaliwanag mo sa kaniya ‘wala tayong pagkain.’ Umiiyak, nagugutom na, mga 1:30 in the afternoon, walang almusal, walang tanghalian,” he recalled.
(Can you imagine, my brother Cong. Ruel, he was just little then, just a kid. He can’t understand if you tell him, if you explain to him that we don’t have food. He would cry out of hunger because it was already 1:30 p.m., [and there’s] no breakfast, no lunch.)
He recalled that his mom told them to just drink water but Pacquiao thought of getting food for his brother. He went to a nearby bakery to beg for some expired bread, to remove the stale parts and heat what remains, which he would feed to his brother.
Pacquiao as a politician is known for his highly conservative stand on certain issues mainly due to his Christian background, for which he has been criticized. His life has been dramatized in a film (“Pacquiao: The Movie”) starring Jericho Rosales, released in 2006. JB
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