Pacquiao the boxer or Pacquiao the Philippine Senator? Take your pick!

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Filipinos are torn. Manny Pacquiao proved once more today that he is the Philippines' greatest athlete of all time. But many Filipinos are not happy, because Pacquaio is also a Philippine Senator who, they scornfully note, became one on the back of the popularity he acquired because of his boxing achievements.

What's wrong with winning an election on the back of popularity gained in a different field? Many showbiz personalities, after all, have come before Pacquiao and capitalised on their own huge fan bases to win elections. The system Filipinos chose to govern themselves by allows it. They signed up to this.

What these "activists" who now gnash their teeth in confusion over how to come to terms with the recent Pacquiao win that is being celebrated by millions of Filipinos need to do is step back and ask a more fundamental question: Why do Filipinos vote the way they do?

Until that question is confronted head on and the obvious answer to it fully-embraced, this pointless "debate" over the duality of the Pacquiao persona -- both champion boxer and Philippine Senator will rage on to its pointless end.

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