Pacquiao, Petecio light cauldron in SEA games opening

As performances at the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games opening ceremony continued, boxing legend Manny Pacquiao was seen on screen carrying the torch which would light the P50 million games cauldron in Capas, Tarlac.

Pacquiao, in a white tracksuit bearing the logo of the SEA Games, ran through the middle of a crowd of fans toward the cauldron where Women's World Boxing Champion Nesthy Petecio was waiting.

#SeaGames2019 #Pilipinas ???????? #WeWinAsOne pic.twitter.com/kQdkY484iA

— Manny Pacquiao (@MannyPacquiao) November 30, 2019

FULL COVERAGE: 30th Southeast Asian Games on GMA News Online

After briefly passing the torch to Petecio, the duo then lit the cauldron together, triggering a grand fireworks display.

The cauldron would be kept lit throughout the whole event of the SEA Games.

Pre-taped

Meanwhile, Pacquiao's assistant, Jake Joson, admitted that the cauldron lighting event in Tarlac, which signaled the opening of the 30th SEA Games, was pre-taped.

"Just to be clear brothers and sisters naniguro mga organizers sa laki ng involvement ni Sen. [Manny Pacquiao] sa pag sindi ng cauldron, eh minabuti na nila e-shoot ng maaga as contingency plan kung sakaling pumasok na ang bagyo sa Pinas at ulanin opening," Joson told GMA News.

"Same reason din bakit ginawa sa Phil Arena opening..... ?? Saan ba mas maraming manunuod sa New Clark or sa tv ? So ginawa nila kung saan mas nakaka rami ang makikinabang," he explained further. — Joahna Lei Casilao/DVM, GMA News