Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

LOS ANGELES—In front of a raucous crowd, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa honored the pound-4-pound champion Manny Pacquiao during the "Day of Service" celebration held at the Search to Involve Pilipino American (SIPA) in Historic Filipinotown last Saturday, March 7.

The mayor along with Assemblymember Ted Lieu honored Pacquiao for his contributions inside and outside the boxing ring.

"He’s a great champion, a great human being, an environmentalist, a man who understands that fame and celebrity comes with a responsibility to the community," said Villaraigosa while introducing Pacquiao to the crowd.

Villaraigosa then brought out a large framed certificate of appreciation, giving it to the pound-4-pound champion.

"Thank you very much for inviting me here to be part of this program to plant 1 million trees in LA," said Pacquiao. "I’m very proud to be part of this program."

The Day of Service celebration focused on the importance of maintaining and cleaning the environment in Historic Filipinotown and greater Los Angeles.

Pacquiao, who is training for his upcoming May 2 fight against Ricky Hatton, said that he accepted the invitation to this program because he chairs an environmental taskforce in his home of General Santos City, Philippines.

"We have a similar program to plant trees, that’s why when they invited me to this program. I said okay," he said.

In recognition of Pacquiao and Villaraigosa, two trees were planted to honor the men in front of the SIPA headquarters.

According to SIPA, 200 new trees have been planted around Historic Filipinotown and more than 200,000 new trees in the city of Los Angeles as of February.

Villaraigosa challenged the crowd to plant their own tree in honor of Pacquiao.

"I want everybody in this town, every one of you today in honor of Manny Pacquiao," said Villaraigosa. "Plant a tree in front of your home, a tree in your yard, a tree in your community in honor of a world champion, that is considered the best pound-4-pound and a good human being."

Before Pacquiao and Villaraigosa met with the estimated 300 people in the crowd outside SIPA, media members gave Villaraigosa a hard time about who he was rooting for in the Pacquiao vs. Oscar De La Hoya match last December.

Villaraigosa, a Mexican-American, said that he’s a good friend of De La Hoya’s and admitted he was rooting for his friend during the fight.

"I know I’m being honest, I’ve known Oscar for a long time," said Villaraigosa. "But I have to say that Manny showed that he was the true champion that night."

( www.asianjournal.com )

( Published on March 11, 2009 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. A1 )