MICHAEL MARLEY'S PHILIPPINE DIARY, PART 14:
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL IN SARANGANI WITH MANNY PACQUIAO
SARANGANI PROVINCE—I have one but one regret after one night in Manila and six nights in General Santos City and envirions.
I am only sorry I waited this long to visit this marvelous archipelago and to meet and greet its friendly, smiling citizens.
The weather great, the food is terrific and the ice cold San Miguels go down like mother's milk.
But it's the people, from the richest to the poorest, who make this country rich emotionally.
It is their radiant souls which put the sun in the national flag so to speak.
Manny Pacquiao is obviously a once in a lifetime fighter, this generation's answer to the fabled Roberto Duran only in a southpaw stance.
But Pacman is also a humble person who came from the most humble of beds.
One of Gensan's exclusive hotspots is Pacquiao pal Clem Asencio's "Wherelse Bar" hard by Royale Hotel. Pinoy journalists Edwin Espejo, Mindanao Today, and Hammering Hermie Rivera mix it up with WG Michael Marley and our gracious host, his lovely wife and some Pinoy pals.
His religious beliefs, his Catholicism, runs deep.
Manny should not be trying to meet up with The Pope, it should be the other way around.
Pacquiao is a noble fellow, if an imperfect person like us all, in a brutal business.
His wife, Jinkee, is beautiful, smart and gracious.
For the most part, the people around Pacman are a pleasure to deal with.
Mabuhay ka Manny! Mabuhay ka Pilipinas!
That's the proclamation, no make that the exclamation of your White Gorilla after just one week.
I've got about six days to go, including Monday's Election Day, and I feel like I did not give myself enough time to explore the island nation.
Btw, did I mention that they seem to genuinely like “kanos” meaning Americans here?
So next time I visit, I will really see Manila. Next time around, I will go to Bohol and to Boracay and maybe up to the strawberry patch in Baguio.
Hopefully, I will have my balut and meet psychic Madame Auring before I leave for Hong Kong en route back to New York.
Now I'd like to share some of the faces and places I've been so lucky to see...
Like Gen, MacArthur famously said, "I shall return!"
(mlcmarley@aol.com)
Source: examiner.com
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