Pacquiao to visit, give aid to flood victims

Sen. Manny Pacquiao, whose generosity is as legendary as his boxing career, is set to visit the flood victims of Marikina City and low-lying towns in Rizal province on Tuesday, according to his top aide Jayke Joson.

Joson, who also resides in the city ravaged by Typhoon “Ulysses” last week, acted as the advance party for boxing’s one and only eight-division champion, giving away cash gift to people in the hardest hit areas.

“He called me up and asked if I was OK because he had seen on TV that the area near where I reside was submerged in floodwaters,” Joson said in a statement on Monday.

He said Pacquiao wanted to know the condition of the people five days after the city was inundated by flash floods that submerged swaths of residential areas in Marikina.

Quickly, Joson asked the help of Coast Guard to get to the places where people needed much help.

“People were asking for food because the little that they had were washed away by the floods during the surge,” Joson said.

But Joson said he didn’t have any relief goods on hand so he decided to distribute cash.

“It was Sen. Manny’s way of providing help right away because he knew people were not just tired but also hungry,” Joson said. “There were no relief goods yet being given away so the best way for them to get food is to buy them in stores.”

Pacquiao, who is turning 42 next month, has been off the ring for more than a year as the coronavirus pandemic wrecked havoc on his schedule. INQ