Boxer lifts Filipino spirit

Philippine boxing hero Manny Pacquiao handed out Bibles, canned food and cash on Sunday to lift people's spirits in areas devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan.

Pacquiao toured the central island of Samar with his own aid caravan after spending the night on Saturday in a tent city in Guiuan, the first town to be struck by the typhoon.

He attended a prayer meeting with survivors in Guiuan early on Sunday and later handed out Bibles and food packages containing rice, noodles and canned meat.

"Let us find hope in God's grace to help us get back on our feet and recover from the devastation," he said.

In two instances during the drive around the devastated areas of Samar, Pacquiao had the convoy stop at coastal communities where homes had been torn apart by the typhoon's winds of up to 315 km per hour and tsunami-like storm surges.

He handed out 1,000 pesos ($23) to families that are now living in makeshift shelters.

Haiyan left nearly 7,400 people dead or missing and more than 4 million others displaced, according to the Philippine government.

Pacquiao, who is also a second-term member of the Philippine House of Representatives with ambitions to run for president someday, is scheduled to lead the aid caravan to neighboring Leyte island on Sunday.

He lifted the country's spirits a week ago with a comeback victory over US boxer Brandon Rios in Macau, following three straight defeats that had raised speculation the 34-year-old's boxing career was over.

Pacquiao, the only man to win world boxing titles in eight different weight divisions, made the trip despite complaining on Tuesday that the government's Bureau of Internal Revenue had frozen all his bank accounts, forcing him to borrow money to buy relief goods.

The bureau is threatening Pacquiao with a $50 million bill for unpaid taxes in 2008 and 2009, and saying it may seize his assets.

(China Daily 12/02/2013 page11)