Rosary beads on ringside

Look for footage of Manny Pacquiao’s fight in the ring and it is almost a hundred percent sure her mother gets at least a five-second airtime. The cameras would show muttering novena lines of prayer, rosary beads on one hand, the other pointing at the opponent.

Her name is Dionisia “Mommy D” Pacquiao, ballroom dancing enthusiast, celebrity endorser, and darling of Philippine pop culture.

Her sons are formidable names in the international boxing arena; one is a congressman, philanthropist, professional basketball team coach, businessman, and was once hailed as the best fighter of this era.

She likes ballroom dancing. She admits to collecting bags with a shiny gold letter “H” wedged on its straps, she appears on advertisements for a pawnshop wearing a long white gown with a crown on her head. She graces late night comedy talk shows and belts “Wrecking Ball” and the crowd goes wild in laughter.

With the assurance of Mommy D’s airtime, comes the assurance that local television networks work in a jiffy to get even just a short interview with her just so she can make the headlines of the evening news right after her son’s bout.

The interviews would show her sitting on a sofa in her hotel room, her rosary beads still tangled between her fingers. Scores of reporters with cameras, lights, and microphones surround her, taking notes, asking questions. Sometimes she would be alone but most often, unknown women would sit beside her, trying to give her air using a fan.

Such is the power of Dionisia “Mommy D” Pacquiao on pop culture. Heck, she is pop culture!

Her wacky pictures and crazy shenanigans create immense buzz on the Internet, especially in social media. Her name has been in Twitter’s trending list, her photos are used as memes and photo comments, videos of her dancing are uploaded and shared all over, and her romantic relationship with her dance instructor is given more airtime in news programs than issues like water shortage or terrorism in the south but who gives a damn? She pulls more audience and the greater the audience is, the more favorable it is to the networks.

The bell will once clang and two fighters in gloves will once again meet in the middle of the ring. One of the fighters is Manny Pacquiao, Filipino pride and pound-for-pound king. The crowd will shout with every hit and hoot with every hit.

The cameras will pan the audience and on ringside, a woman in white will hold rosary beads with one hand, and will curse the opponent with the other.