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ZAMBOANGA
CITY—Boxing
sensation Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao on Wednesday lectured
soldiers about discipline, saying a successful trooper
is no different from a successful professional boxer
like him.
Pacquiao
said the only difference is that a soldier is armed
while a boxer isn’t.
“If you
are a soldier, once you are hit, you cannot be sure if
you could still fight back, while a boxer, once your
opponent hits you, you can hit back,” Pacquiao jokingly
told a crowd at the Camp Navarro General Hospital (CNGH).
Pacquiao,
an Army reservist with a rank of Master Sergeant,
distributed souvenir T-shirts to the troops with
markings “Bayani Ka Kawal Pilipino.”
He noted
that soldiers are sacrificing a lot to make sure that
Filipinos will have a peaceful and tranquil community to
live in.
Pacquiao
arrived here Wednesday afternoon together with Army
chief Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano and other top officials
and distributed gifts to wounded soldiers at CNGH, the
military hospital located in this city.
From
CNGH, they motored to Camp Basilio Navarro to visit the
headquarters of the Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom)
and were welcomed by command chief Maj. Gen. Nelson
Allaga and other Wesmincom military officers and
civilian personnel.
Pacquiao
and Yano flew, also on Wednesday, directly to Jolo from
Manila and proceeded to Camp Gen. Teodulfo Bautista
where the Army’s 104th Infantry Brigade headquarters is
located.
They
also visited and distributed Christmas gifts to the
troops of the Army’s 35th Infantry Battalion stationed
in the town of Indanan.
They
returned to Jolo and boarded a Fokker to this city where
they transferred to UH-1H helicopters and flew to
Basilan and visited the troops in the province.
After
resting overnight in this city, the two flew to Dipolog
City early Thursday and visited troops of the Armyís
101st Brigade in PiÒan town, Zamboanga del Norte.
Pacquiao
will be the guest of honor in a program commemorating
the 67th Founding Day of Andres Bonifacio College in
Dipolog City Thursday. After the program, Pacquiao and
Yano will immediately fly back to Manila.
Yano
said that their visit to south is part of his command’s
Christmas visit and gift giving to the troops in the
field. |
