Fellow senators file resolutions commending Pacquiao win vs Vargas

Camille Elemia

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Fellow senators file resolutions commending Pacquiao win vs Vargas

AFP

(UPDATED) Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III and Senator Cynthia Villar file resolutions, honoring Pacquiao as the 'only sitting senator' in history 'to win a boxing title'

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – A day after Manny Pacquiao’s triumphant return to the ring, two fellow senators filed resolutions commending the world boxing champion-turned-lawmaker for his victory against Jessie Vargas.

Pacquiao, who is turning 38 in December, dethroned 27-year-old Jessie Vargas by unanimous decision. His win comes after a brief retirement to run for a Senate seat during the May 2016 elections. (READ: Pacquiao pounds Vargas to win WBO welterweight title)

The Filipino boxing icon, who juggled his training with duties as a legislator, also dealt Vargas his first knockdown in his young pro career. (IN PHOTOS: Pacquiao champ again after beating Vargas)

Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III filed Senate Resolution Number 217 congratulating the neophyte lawmaker for defeating Vargas, saying Pacquiao should again be recognized for giving honor to the country.

“Senator Manny Pacquiao’s immeasurable achievements and intense desire for boxing have brought honor, pride, and inspiration to all Filipinos anywhere in the world, and have time and again put the country’s name in a new light,” Sotto said.

Pacquiao, Sotto said, is considered one of the “greatest boxers” of all time, being the first and only 8-division world champion and the first to win the championship in 5 different weight classes.

Senator Cynthia Villar – Pacquiao’s party mate at the Nacionalista Party before he joined President Rodrigo Duterte’s PDP-Laban – filed Senate Resolution 220.

By winning the fight, Villar said, Pacquiao proved that he can “harmonize his boxing career with his new job as a neophyte senator,” making him the “only sitting senator” in history “to win a boxing title.”

House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez also lauded Pacquiao’s victory, saying he brought glory to the country once more.

“More than this, he has also earned the distinction as the first boxer-senator to win a world title in boxing without neglecting his duties as a lawmaker. Indeed, for all this and his humility and generosity of spirit, he has truly earned the love, trust, and respect of the Filipino people,” Alvarez said in a statement.

Other colleagues in the Senate praised Pacquiao for dominating the Vargas fight, adding that he is also dedicated to his work as a senator. Pacquiao earlier vowed he would not be an absentee legislator – a description associated with him when he was a lawmaker at the House of Representatives. – Rappler.com

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Camille Elemia

Camille Elemia is a former multimedia reporter for Rappler. She covered media and disinformation, the Senate, the Office of the President, and politics.