Gays, militants weigh in on Pacquiao’s shock loss

MANILA, Philippines — The Progressive Organization of Gays in the Philippines came out in support of defeated boxing Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao who was outpointed by American Timothy Bradley in judges’ scorecards, saying that he should to come home quick to help pass important bills in Congress.

“We sympathize with the Pacquiao camp and all his saddened supporters. But in defeat, we rise again and help build equality in our nation by knocking out discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” Goya Candelario, spokesperson of ProGay said in a statement.

ProGay said that the pound-for-pound king Pacquiao should also re-assess his political stand against marriage equality issues and learn to totally accept lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality as a member of the House of Representatives.

The boxer-congressman was criticized by human rights groups for speaking out against United States President Barack Obama’s support for same-sex marriages a few weeks before the fight in the US. (Pacquiao later apologized for the hurt he caused in expressing his belief but denied ever saying a hate-filled comment about gays by quoting a Bible passage.)

“We ask Congressman Pacquiao to support our equality by endorsing the passage of House Bill 1483 or the Anti-Discrimination Bill if he really is supportive of LGBT citizens,” Candelario added.

The leftist workers’ group, Kilusang Mayo Uno, meanwhile, said Pacquiao was “cheated,” adding that the result of the match “illustrates” how the US has allegedly been cheating the Filipino nation through economic means and attempting to station more troops in the country.

“Pacquiao remains a champion for all workers because he supports the P125-across-the-board wage hike bill. Malacañang quickly accepted Pacquiao’s apparent loss after harassing him about his taxes. Even in boxing, the President is a lapdog of the Americans,” KMU chair Elmer Labog said in a text message.

Like KMU, ProGay also called on Pacquiao to keep supporting the bills filed to legislate a P125-wage increase to revive the economy and thus help gay and transgender salon workers in the slums get a boost in their earnings.