The spiritual adviser of Manny Pacquiao has clarified that they have not authorized anybody in Iloilo to solicit money in behalf of Team Pacquiao saying “it is not the style of Manny Pacquiao.”
Speaking from Gen. Santos City on April 21, Adriano “Rey” Golingan, Pacquiao’s wedding godfather and member of Team Pacquiao, said the unscrupulous individuals in Iloilo who are using the name of Team Pacquiao to solicit money should be exposed and put behind bars.
“It is Manny Pacquiao who gives money to some LGUs and not the other way around,” said Golingan, who is regional president of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) and owner of the gym in Mindanao where Pacquiao trained.
Golingan said the mayors and the other victims “are themselves to blame if they did not verify the claims of the impostors.”
Reports said several regional directors, municipal mayors, and businessmen recently complained that at least two individuals posing as “media men” and “members of Team Pacquiao” have been soliciting money from them.
“One of them, who claimed to be a broadcaster, even sent text messages to several public officials saying he is a member of Team Pacquiao and that he will use the money for the team when he joins the team (for Pacquiao’s next fight on May 2 in Las Vegas),” reported a regional director who himself received the text message.
A newly reinstalled mayor in the third district of Iloilo who regained his seat after losing in the vice mayoralty race, admitted that the impostor “has been bothering him” through text messages and through regular visits in his municipality.
One of their victims was reportedly a prominent realtor who “donated” a large sum.
“They ride in a motorcycle and they carry media IDs,” said a male teacher who overheard the regional director’s complaint.
Golingan will leave for Los Angeles on April 23 to join the Team Pacquiao in a caravan from Hollywood to Las Vegas where Pacquiao will try to grab the IBO light welterweight title from Ricky Hatton in a 12-round championship fight.