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Manila: President Gloria Arroyo hailed Manny Pacquiao as the "Philippines' gift to the world of boxing" yesterday after he retained his WBC international featherweight title.
Around the country, guns fell silent as the military temporarily halted its campaign against militants in the south to watch Pacquiao's bout with Mexican Marc Antonio Barrera, which was beamed live via satellite from Las Vegas to army headquarters.
Many streets were nearly empty as bus drivers stopped work to watch, while construction workers at a building in Manila's Makati financial district called a special lunch break to enable workers to cheer their hero.
A delayed telecast of the match was shown on free television in Manila, where the city government put up giant screens in gymnasiums and public parks.
Indomitable
"The 'National Fist' [Pacquiao] once again buoyed the nation's spirit with his excellent fighting form and indomitable spirit," Arroyo said, while revealing she attended a mass near the presidential palace to pray for the boxer.
Pacquiao's mother Dionisia said: "I prayed hard that nothing [bad] would happen to both boxers. I asked the Lord to make my son win. I perspired a lot. I felt I was getting hit by the Mexican boxer."
About 1,000 soldiers and their loved ones gathered in a basketball gym at the army's headquarters in Manila to watch Pacquiao, an army reservist.
Convenience stores, barbershops, beauty parlours, and restaurants were all filled with fight fans.
Vice-President Noli de Castro led three government officials to watch the rematch while Filipinos in Las Vegas sent text messages to relatives and friends back home to confirm the outcome.
- With additional inputs from agencies
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