By Mario B. Casayuran
Sen. Manny D. Pacquiao has revealed that he has been plowing his earnings from his boxing career to buy hectares of land for subdivision sites, building two-bedroom houses in Sarangani and General Santos City, and giving them free to the poor.
The eight-time boxing champion, in a radio interview, said thousands have benefited from his housing program.
Pacquiao said the houses, made of concrete and with kitchens, have electricity and water connections.
Pacquiao said he opted not to announce his housing program since it is not in his nature to brag about his pro-poor sentiments and works.
Many are now residing in the subdivisions and that their elation and surprise at being chosen as recipients of his housing program alone make him happy.
Pacquiao said he is not worried that the money would stop flowing because God is on his side and that He continues to bless him.
He said his housing program continues and that he is, at present, in the process of deciding whether the housing sites should be in Batangas or Laguna.
Pacquiao also said he has a scholarship program that began in 2005. Many recipients thanked him when he visited Dubai, United Arab Emirates in 2012.
He said he does not have a partner in his housing projects and they have been financed by his earnings as a boxer.
