Philippines president comparing himself to Hitler puts Manny Pacquiao on the spot

In his brief time in the Filipino senate, Manny Pacquiao has shown himself to be a close ally of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte.

In what was hailed at the time as his first major victory in office, Pacquiao had Sen. Leila De Lima, a harsh Duterte critic, removed as chair of its Justice and Human Rights committee.

Pacquiao’s support of Duterte runs deep.

Pacquiao, who is training for a Nov. 5 pay-per-view fight for the WBO welterweight title against Jessie Vargas in Las Vegas at the same time he does his work in the senate, has already voiced his support for Duterte’s crackdown on crime, particularly Duterte’s hardline stance against drugs.

Filipino police say that since Duterte’s June 30 inauguration, 3,171 drug dealers and users have already been killed. A third of those killed were at the hands of the police and the other two-thirds were by what are essentially vigilante pro-Duterte forces.

A self-proclaimed born-again Christian, Pacquiao justified the killings by saying that Duterte had been chosen by God to “discipline the people.”

The situation got more bizarre on Friday when, in a speech in Davao City, Duterte compared himself to Adolf Hitler.

“Hitler massacred three million Jews,” Duterte said. “Now there is three million, what is it, three million drug addicts [in the Philippines]. I’d be happy to slaughter them. At least if Germany had Hitler, the Philippines would have [me]. You know my victims, I would like them to be all criminals, to finish the problem of my country and save the next generation from perdition.”

The Nazi leader, one of the most reviled figures in human history, sent 11 million Jews to their deaths.

Thus far, Pacquiao hasn’t publicly commented on Duterte comparing himself to Hitler.

It would seem, however, to be incumbent upon Pacquiao to make some sort of statement against Duterte. Pacquiao tends to cloak himself in the Bible when he takes controversial positions, but no Bible I’m aware of advocates emulating someone who ruthlessly murdered 11 million people.

Pacquiao is one of the world’s best boxers and has parlayed his fame into a political career. How qualified he is for his office remains in question, but his stated intentions are at least good. He has said he wants to serve the people as best he can.

Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum has spoken optimistically about Pacquiao’s chances of becoming the nation’s president within the next decade.

Pacquiao has long been the most popular figure in the Philippines, and his popularity no doubt helped him attain office. In addition to being one of the two best boxers of his generation, and among the greatest of all-time, he’s also incredibly charitable.

Pacquiao’s philanthropic efforts have benefited Filipinos in all walks of life. Arum once famously said the public welfare system in the Philippines is Manny Pacquiao.

Arum said he hasn’t spoken to Pacquiao since Duterte’s comparison to Hitler and isn’t sure if he’ll put out a statement.

“You always have to worry when any world leader, even if a fairly elected one, turns out to be a bully and a strong man,” Arum said.

It seems fairly obvious that that is exactly what Duterte is.

As best as is known, none of the more than 3,000 people who have been killed were afforded due process. Pacquiao can’t simply stand by silently and watch the citizens he represents be butchered.

But with a man such as Duterte in charge of the country, will Pacquiao be able to speak out freely against such human rights violations? Is he able to condemn Duterte’s comparisons with Hitler without putting his own life at risk?

Who knows?

It certainly doesn’t make Pacquiao look good to an American audience. His story – being born in extreme poverty, selling items on the street as a young boy to help make money and coming to the U.S. to make himself a superstar as a boxer – has captured the heart of even non-boxing fans who have heard it. But will the same audience accept a man who supports a leader who compares himself to Hitler?

Arum said it’s not fair to judge Pacquiao harshly until more facts are known.

“I haven’t dealt with a situation like this where an athlete, in this case, a boxer, holds this tremendously high political position in his country,” Arum said. “And politics sometimes react differently from other people to things like this. It’s unfair to question him as a boxer; he has to address it as a politician and he has to do it in the best possible way.”

Back in 2006, when Pacquiao first decided to make a run for public office, it seemed like a cute story and everyone smiled. But holding public office is no joke and brings with it huge responsibility.

Pacquiao finds himself now in the middle of a situation that is beyond him and which he can’t control.

The cute story doesn’t sound so cute right now.