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Pacquiao remarks slammed
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Boxing star and Philippine Senate candidate Manny Pacquiao apologized yesterday for denouncing people in gay relationships as “worse than animals” but said he stood by his opposition to same-sex marriage.
“It’s just common sense,” Pacquiao said in the remarks on Monday which was posted online by the TV5 network. “Have you seen any animal having male-to-male or female-to-female relations?”
Animals, he said, were better because they recognize gender differences, and “if you have male-to-male or female-to-female (relationships), then people are worse than animals.”
Among those who reacted strongly was popular gay comedian and TV host Jose Marie Viceral, known as Vice Ganda. Vice Ganda tweeted that lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders are humans, not animals. He said that they’re not saints, but that they’ll pray for the boxer, who is widely acclaimed for bringing his country honors.
Vice Ganda posted a picture of Pope Francis, suggesting that even the beloved leader of the Roman Catholic church does not condemn gays. He quoted the pope: “If a person is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”
Danton Remoto, chairman of the LGBT group Ladlad, said Pacquiao’s comments betray a shallow understanding of sexual orientation and gender identity. “He is running for a national position and he should be a senator of everybody, not just over-the-hill boxers and straight people,” Remoto said.
Pacquiao, 37 and a current member of the House of Representatives, apologized in social media. “I’m sorry for hurting people by comparing homosexuals to animals,” he said in a Facebook video. “Please forgive me for those I’ve hurt.”
In an Instagram post, he said he was not condemning anyone, but was just expounding on a biblical truth and would rather obey God than obey “the desires of the flesh.”
Pacquiao said he will retire after his bout with Timothy Bradley on April 9 in Las Vegas.
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