Pacquiao to attend US National Prayer Breakfast, meet Obama in Washington

Manny Pacquiao. AP File Photo

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino boxing star Manny Pacquiao will attend the annual National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 5 in Washington, D.C.

In the gathering, Pacquiao is expected to meet US President Barack Obama, whom he and his wife Jinkee had met in 2011 at the White House just months before his bout with Shane Mosley.

The meeting will also be attended by exiled Tibetian spiritual leader Dalai Lama.

Pacquiao’s trip to Washington is part of a hectic three-week itinerary that included stops in Los Angeles and New York to promote his documentary, and a trip to Miami to judge the Miss Universe pageant.

In Miami, the Filipino boxing champion bumped into rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. at a Miami Heat game. The two boxing icons then talked at Pacquiao’s hotel suite in Florida about their possible megafight which is reportedly on hold after negotiations were stalled.

A playing-coach for Kia Motors in the PBA, Pacquiao also took time to play basketball at a high school gym in Glendale, California.

Last month, Pacquiao and Jinkee also had dinner with Prince Harry at Buckingham Palace in London.

Pacquiao, a representative of the lone district of Sarangani, was one of the top absentees in the House of Representatives, showing up for only four days last year according to reports.

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