Despite bringing honor again to his native Philippine soil, do you agree that Manny Pacquiao set a bad example for others to follow when he went against the health officials’ advice? I am wondering how Filipinos might react to the editorial of Malaya saying that Pacman is a bad example for others to follow.

The Malaya Editorial entitled Manny’s Bad Example reads:

Do they now have to resort to a legally enforceable quarantine?

Manny Pacquiao was a disappointment as a role model when he turned a deaf ear to the appeal of health officials to undergo self-quarantine for at least five days before returning to Manila. There were two options presented to him. First, to postpone his return home for at least five days. Second, to closet himself for the same length of time if it was impossible for him to postpone his homecoming.

He decided on coming home as scheduled and promptly went to the Quiapo church where, as expected, he was mobbed by his fans.

Perhaps the advice of health officials was misplaced. Perhaps asking every returning resident to refrain from meeting crowds immediately after arrival runs against ingrained tradition. But if self-quarantine, by the expert opinion of the officials, is one of the ways of ensuring that the country is spared from the global spread of the AH1NI influenza virus, isn’t it every traveler’s responsibility to contribute to minimizing the risk of spreading the virus despite the personal inconvenience?

Manny is now a legend. By going against the advice, he was setting a bad example. What does that now make of his commitment to serve as a symbol of national unity that, according to him, is what the country needs to meet the challenges it faces?

That Manny airport screening is beside the point. It was his preceding action – going against the health officials’ advice – that is the issue. His handlers are doing him a disservice by glossing over this fact. He is in excellent physical condition, sure, and he probably would simply have sneezed off any AH1NI infection. But if he were a carrier, how about the thousands he could have directly infected and the hundreds of thousands who could have caught the bug second-hand?

We have no idea how long the country will remain free from AH1N1. A total of 20 cases has so far been tested by the health department. Of the 20, 15 have been cleared and the remainder are likely to be cleared. The virus, which started in Mexico, has, however, spread to 21 countries, with Australia reporting the latest case.

And as the contagion spreads globally, the higher is the probability that the remaining virus-free countries, including the Philippines, would start seeing local cases soon. What would be the morally suasive worth of the health officials’ advice of self-quarantine after Manny’s action? Do they now have to resort to a legally enforceable quarantine? Or, heaven forbid, a ban on travel to halt the spread of infection?

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