Manny Pacquiao (Mike Alquinto, NPPA Images)Manny Pacquiao: winner of 10 world boxing titles; Sarangani representative; movie (remember "Wapakman"?) and TV star (e.g. "Show Me Da Manny"); recording artist (his CD of Dan Hill's "Sometimes When We Touch" ranked No. 19 in the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart). Now add to that long list of achievements, game show host.
Last Saturday, Pacman presided at the live premiere telecast on GMA-7 of his so-called game show, "Manny Many Prizes," at a jampacked AFP Auditorium in Quezon City. Game show is a misnomer because very few games were played. It was more of a Christmas party where Manny played Santa Claus or "ninong" to more than a thousand lucky "inaanaks." That evening, he gave away more than a million pesos in cash and prizes. Take that, Willie Revillame!
To start with, each member of the audience did not go home empty-handed. "Walang uuwing luhaan." promised Santa Manny. No amount was mentioned however. The lucky ones chosen via a raffle earned as much as P30,000 each. Another group caught specially marked balloons from the ceiling entitling them to as much as P10,000 each.
Misfired
One game misfired. Two giant boxing gloves were supposed to be passed from one audience member to the next while the music played and whoever had the glove when the music stopped won a prize.
Unfortunately, one person held on to the glove even when the music was still playing. It took a while to disengage the item from the person. When the music did stop, I saw about five people holding on to that blasted glove with no one letting go. The show had to cut to a commercial and the game was discontinued.
For the main event where the grand prize was a house and lot, the audience was asked to dance while Manny chose five who moved well. I was surprised when the champ picked a senior with a walking cane, who obviously could not dance as well as the others. The five had to answer questions about Manny's life to get a chance at the prize and what do you know? The old man won the right to play for the jackpot. He had to choose among five wooden houses where the winning phrase "Lupa at Bahay" was hidden. He chose No. 2 but the phrase was hidden in House No. 1. So the senior had to be happy with P30,000.
Giveaway
But wait! Even if the old man had lost, Manny announced that he was still giving him the house and lot. What kind of a game show gives away the top prize worth almost a million pesos or more to a losing contestant? John Estrada and company don't do that on "Happy Yipee Yehey!" Willie Revillame does give away a few thousand to some losing participants on "Wiltime Bigtime" but a house and lot? Whew!
I don't know if the prizes really came from Manny's gold-lined pockets but he can certainly afford it. Forbes ranked him No. 6 among the world's highest paid athletes with earnings of $40 million in 2009. In our local currency, that's approximately P1.7 billion. That doesn't include the 2010 figures.
I appreciate Manny Pacquiao's honest intention to help the less fortunate members of our society by giving away cash and prizes but he and Revillame are sending the wrong signal. The message he is sending is that people should rely on luck and giveaways to improve their life. What we need are long-lasting rather than temporary solutions.
"Manny Many Prizes" already started it by focusing on two barangay groups who are involved in civic work in their respective communities. They were chosen not on the basis of a raffle but on their performance. They joined a "Simon Says" type of game with the winning group getting a projector and an individual getting not cash but a livelihood project worth P60,000. There should be more needy groups that the show can help.
In the future, the show is also accepting letters from the viewers who need financial and other forms of assistance. This is the way to do it. This is how foundations do it. Requests for assistance are evaluated before the aid is given. Giving away prizes via a raffle is non-productive.
The show should heed the advice of a Chinese proverb "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."
Disclaimer: The views and observations of the author do not represent the position of Yahoo! Southeast Asia on the issue or topic being discussed.
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