Charles Teves
Presidential aspirant Senator Manny Pacquiao suddenly admits that he has all the love in the world for the LGBTQ community despite still being against same-sex marriage.
In an interview with One PH on November 9, Pacquiao said that his faith wouldn’t allow him to favor same-sex marriage, but that doesn’t mean he dislikes gay people.
“Siguro naman maintindihan nila yung posisyon ko, pero love ko silang lahat, di ko sila kinokondena, yung faith ko sa Panginoon ay nandiyan.
“Kung ano man yung paniniwala ko, yun ang paniniwala ko, pero hindi ibig sabihin na ayaw ko sa LGBT.” he explained.
He then complimented the community saying that gays are hardworking individuals and that he likes working with them.
“In fact, gusto ko silang kasama dahil masisipag po ‘yang mga ‘yan at karamihan ay matatalino.”
Pacquiao’s surprising words came after presidential surveys suggest that his tandem with Lito Atienza is trailing behind other candidates.
According to PUBLiCUS Asia survey results released late October, former senator Bongbong Marcos enjoys a big lead over other aspirants with a total presidential preference vote of 49.3 percent, while Pacquiao came in last at 2.8 percent.
However, during his 2016 campaign for the senator, Pacquiao said same-sex marriage was worse than what animals do.
“Common sense lang. Makakita ka ba ng any animals na lalaki sa lalaki o babae sa babae?” he said in a short interview.
“Mas mabuti pa yung hayop. Marunong kumikilala, kung lalaki o lalaki, babae babae.
“Ngayon kung lalaki sa lalaki, babae sa babae, mas masahol pa sa hayop ang tao.”
He apologized right after, but the backlash was non-stop. In a recent interview with Toni Gonzaga, he explained that what he said was taken out of context.
“Na-edit kasi masyado yung statement ko na yun.
“Ang sinasabi ko palagi, hindi ko kinu-condemn yung mga gay, mga LGBT.
“May mga pamangkin ako na LGBT, ang dami ko mga LGBT na workers, sa bahay ko, kahit sa mga kapatid ko.
“As a person, hindi mo sasabihin na galit ka sa kanya, kinokondena mo siya. Dapat nga, who am I to judge a person, di ba?”
