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A royal welcome fit for a king awaits newly crowned World Boxing
Council (WBC) super-featherweight champion Manny Pacquiao when he
arrives today from the US.
As has been his practice, the boxer who has been
dubbed “The National Fist” will call on President Gloria Arroyo
at Malacañang today, said Manny Pacquiao Promotions spokesman Reli
de Leon.
Pacquiao is scheduled to arrive with his team at
5 a.m. aboard a Philippine Airlines flight from Los Angeles.
They are to be met by dignitaries, including
Vice-President Noli de Castro and long-time supporter Lito Atienza,
formerly Manila mayor and now secretary of the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources.
The 29-year-old native of General Santos City
will proceed to the New World Hotel in Makati City for a brief rest,
before attending a 9 a.m. Mass at the Quiapo Church, and afterwards,
a victory party organized by the television network GMA 7 at its
headquarters in Quezon City. That network aired the rematch in the
Philippines.
No motorcade is scheduled for today, de Leon
said.
One was supposed to be arranged by the city
government of Manila, but Manila Sports Council Chairman Niño de la
Cruz said Pac-quiao’s camp declined.
“The Office of the Mayor, had actually
informed the Pacquiao camp of the planned motorcade as a tribute to
him for being an adopted son of Manila, but I was told that it was
declined by Pacquiao himself,” said de la Cruz, a grandson of
Mayor Alfredo Lim.
This was the second time that Pacquiao has
snubbed Lim, a political opponent of Atienza, whose son lost in the
last mayoral election. The elder Atienza was barred from seeking
reelection as mayor after serving three consecutive terms.
Instead, a big parade that will traverse five
metropolitan cities is scheduled Tuesday, said Eric Pineda of Team
Pacquiao.
After defeating defending champion Juan Manuel
Marquez of Mexico by a razor-thin split decision in Las Vegas on
March 15, Pacquiao became the first Asian to win three world
championships in as many weight divisions.
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