Dear Manny,

Congratulations!

Today, you made us proud once again. You defied the odds. You were the underdog. But you prevailed. You have just given us Filipinos around the globe an early Christmas gift.

As we celebrate and await for your return, sycophants will be having a field day.

Manny, you are young, admired, adored and filthy rich while our country is old, a basket case and dirt poor. You inspire us. You make us proud. You are the only Filipino who can truly unite us as a people.

Unfortumately you are surrounded by sycophants. There will always be people who will ride on your fame and glory. The "friends" that you keep is what bothers us, most Filipinos. We can always respect who you choose to be your friends but you can be bigger than what you are now if you heed our clamor.

Manny, you are our Obama. This is not an insinuation that you run for president. Far from it. You are our Obama because you have captured our imagination just how Obama captured the imagination of the American people. You have in your hands the power to inspire CHANGE.

CHANGE is what we need. Only a Manny Pacquiao, at this point in our history, can catalyze the process of CHANGE.

Manny, your love for our country is beyond reproach. You always say that your fights are for the glory of the Filipino people. And we thank you for that. Your patriotism is pure, just as pure as your faith in GOD. That patriotism is your catalyst to inspire CHANGE. But you may need to distance yourself from the most hated kind of Filipinos, the trapos.

Play your cards well and you may be destined for greater glory. You have become an icon. Don't let the bootlickers take advantage of your iconic image. Instead, make it a tool to inspire us to CHANGE, to unite us towards CHANGE. Lift us up out of poverty not with your winnings but by inculcating patriotism which is hardly existent. You need not become a politician to do that. You need to distance yourself from politicians to do that.

The Filipino people needs you, Manny. Not just the temporary respite from our woes everytime you defeat your opponent but for the greater glory that we seek for our race as a people.

Iniibig ko ang Pilipinas!
Pinoy