As Manny Pacquiao celebrates his win over Lucas Mathysse in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, some netizens on Twitter are calling out the boxer cum athlete for his alleged bigotry and support for extra-judicial killings and the death penalty.
One of the more more vocal critics is lawyer Jesus Falcis, who became known for his Supreme Court petition that seeks to legalize same-sex marriage in the country.
Falcis said the 39-year-old Pacquiao “does not represent me and other LGBT citizens.”
A devout Christian, Pacquiao created controversy in 2016 when he called gay people “worse than animals.” He has apologized for his remarks but said “I’m against same-sex marriage because of what the Bible says.”
Because of his statements, shoe giant Nike terminated their contract with Pacquiao, calling his comments “abhorrent.”
Over at Twitter, @mrsunlawyer agreed, and asked: “Why the hell should we celebrate such a sorry excuse for a human being just because he boxes well?”
I have gay friends. I will not validate someone who thinks they’re worse than animals in any way, shape, or form. A bigot is a bigot whether he’s in or out of the ring. Why the hell should we celebrate such a sorry excuse for a human being just because he boxes well?
— Demontita Of Manila (@mrsunlawyer) July 15, 2018
Blogger Tonyo Cruz highlighted the fact that as a senator, Pacquiao should be devoting his time fulfilling his job instead of juggling multiple roles.
In the past, Pacquiao earned a reputation for rarely showing up at work. When he was a congressperson for Sarangani province, for example, Pacquiao showed up in congress for only four days in 2014, making him the most “absent” member of the chamber, a distinction he shared only with another politician.
Right after he was elected senator, Pacquiao promised to focus on his job — but he went back from his short-lived retirement from sports and even found the time to establish the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League, whose recent opening he attended while in the midst of training for the Matthyse fight.
Please stop asking us to applaud a senator who sneaked in and out of his official duties and trained and prepared for his personal bout on time supposedly singularly devoted to us. And amid the many burning issues.
— Tonyo Cruz (@tonyocruz) July 15, 2018
In fact, it is Pacquiao who should be grateful that he is *allowed* to continue practicing his chosen career while being an elected public servant. Lawyers, doctors and just about everybody else cannot legally do that.
— Tonyo Cruz (@tonyocruz) July 15, 2018
Another user told him to “get back to work” now that his fight is over.
Ok get back to work, Senator. https://t.co/a9dwPuAjgt
— Alt Tantay 🏳️🌈 (@rupertnotholmes) July 15, 2018
User @scorsaguin wrote: “He owes a lot to the people for being a useless senator. F*ck your superficial pinoy pride.”
you cannot separate pacquiao the incompetent, homophobic senator from pacquiao the boxing champion. may kasalanan siya sa taong bayan bilang inutil na senador. fuck your superficial pinoy pride.
— not zenaida seva (@scorsaguin) July 15, 2018
Celebrity lawyer Gideon Peña said that Pacquiao the boxer should be separated from Pacquiao the politician, but for netizen @tyradanielle, they are one and the same.
you can’t separate manny pacquiao the boxer from the politician because he is the same bigot and drug war supporter in and out of the ring
— tyra danielle (@tyradaniellee) July 15, 2018
The user is alluding to Pacquiao’s support of the government’s anti-drug campaign. In 2016, Pacquiao said the country’s drug problem is “beyond our imagination” and alleged that government officials are involved in the narco business — all without providing proof to back up his assertions.
And Pacquiao has also earned brickbats for supporting the death penalty. User @Miguel Poblador wrote: “I’m not going to cheer for a man who supports the death penalty and the killing of innocent people.”
And no, we can’t separate Manny the Boxer from Manny the Politician, sorry. I’m not going to cheer for a man who supports the death penalty and the killing of innocent people. Fuck Manny Pacquiao. Fuck your “pinoy pride”, and fuck you if you rallied behind him for this fight.
— Patroclus (@MiguelPoblador) July 15, 2018
Another user, @ohnopaige, agrees.
When Manny Pacquiao makes homophobic remarks, believes in taking away a woman’s reproductive rights, and lobbies for the death penalty, it’s hard to believe his bigotry and self-righteousness is due to his profession instead of who he is as a person.
— Paige Occeñola (@ohnopaige) July 15, 2018
Pacquiao is a vocal supporter of the reimposition of the death penalty and even famously said: “God allows governments to use capital punishment. Even Jesus Christ was sentenced to death because the government imposed the rule then.”
But whether one likes Pacquiao’s politics or not, one thing remains undebatable — people are no longer excited about his fights as much as they used to be.
10 years ago, a Pacquiao fight would have shut down the country — traffic and crime would become non-existent for at least a day. Yet things have changed.
And people online agree.
No less than President Rodrigo Duterte has encouraged Pacquiao to retire, but it remains to be seen if the fighter — now nearing 40 — will finally say goodbye to the sport that has brought him money, fame, and a political career.
