Avel Manansala, media liaison officer of the city mayor’s office, said Friday the city government has purchased a pay-per-view subscription worth around P300,000 to allow local residents witness for free the Pacquiao-Bradley fight via live telecast at the 5,000-capacity city gymnasium.
He said Mayor Darlene Antonino-Custodio personally endorsed the purchase of the pay-per-view subscription as show of support for Pacquiao, who hails from this city.
The eight-division champion, who is staking anew his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title against Bradley, grew up in Barangay Labangal here and is considered a local hero.
Manansala said they already released 5,000 tickets for the free live viewing of the fight at the city gymnasium in Barangay Lagao here. “The tickets will guarantee reserved seats inside the gym,” he said. He said they tapped the city’s 26 barangay councils to facilitate the distribution of the free tickets, which local residents may avail of on a “first come, first served” basis.
Manansala said the gymnasium will open at 8 a.m. on Sunday for the live telecast – starting from the undercards to the main event.
He reminded residents who availed of the free tickets to strictly observe the city gymnasium’s standing policy against the bringing of food and any beverage inside the facility.
For residents who failed to avail of the free tickets, he said they will set up television sets outside the gymnasium to accommodate them.
Aside from the city government, the barangay councils of Apopong and Labangal here will also be offering free the live telecasts of the fight at their barangay gymnasiums.
In Sarangani, officials of the province’s congressional district office said a free live telecast of the Pacquiao-Bradley fight will also be beamed at the provincial capitol gymnasium.
Several restaurants, entertainment establishments and shopping malls in the city are also offering live viewing of the Pacquiao-Bradley bout for fees ranging from P50 to P400.
