The Philippine Army will give military honors to Sen. Manny Pacquiao for his victorious comeback fight against Jessie Vargas in Las Vegas on Sunday.
Army spokesman Col. Benjamin Hao said the leadership is also deliberating on what award should be given to Pacquiao, who is a reserve officer of the Army with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
“Army chief [Lt. Gen. Eduardo A?o] said we are going to give him honors. He also wants to give an award for his feat and the highest award that we can give him (Pacquiao) is the Military Achievement Medal,” Hao said.
The Military Achievement Medal is higher compared to the Military Merit Medal given by the military to Pacquiao following his win against Timothy Bradley in April last year.
Coming out of retirement, Pacquiao won via unanimous decision after a 12-round bout against Vargas.
Pacquiao juggled his work as a senator and rigorous training for his fight.
Senators have also filed resolutions to honor Pacquiao for being able to come out victorious from the fight as a working senator.
The Army spokesman said they have yet to set the date of the event.
He said they would want to give military honors to the senator within the week and they are still coordinating with the camp of Pacquiao.
“His accomplishment has given soldiers a higher morale. Also, it brought prestige to the Philippine Army, he being a reservist. We are really high morale now. His feat helped the organization,” Hao said.
Pacquiao joined the military as a reserve officer in 2006 with the rank of sergeant and promoted to the next higher rank of master sergeant for his victorious bouts.
When he joined the Army reserve corps in 2011 and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
The senator will be promoted to colonel if he secures a master’s degree on national security administration. ?ALG, GMA News
