Pacquiao's personal assistant: American by blood, Pinoy by heart

American by blood but Filipino by heart.

That was how David Sisson, the personal assistant of Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao, described himself in an interview with 24 Oras.



The 23-year-old used to live in Oklahoma City in the United States with his family, but his father decided to move them to General Santos City to work as missionaries.

"Sabi ng mga tao, bakit GenSan? Delikado, maraming problems. Hindi pa malaki 'yung Gen San at that time e," he said. "Sabi ng papa ko, 'I know that's where the Lord wants us to go.'"

Sisson saw Pacquiao a couple of times in the city, but it was not until the Sarangani representative became a born-again Christian that they formally met and became closer.

Pacquiao hired him as his personal assistant for the megafight with Floyd Mayweather, and now he posts updates and photos of the boxer on his Twitter account.

"Marami akong natutunan kay Mr. Manny," he said. "How he treats people - minsan pag ang tao galit sa kanya, when people talk bad about him, he turns the other cheek. Yung response niya in a good way. He's always nice to people."

Sisson, who learned Bisaya as a second language, went back to the US in 2010 to study Church Ministry. He is set to graduate this year and plans to go back to GenSan, the place he now considers home.

"Minsan ang mga tao walang pera, walang pagkain pero ang kasiyahan 'yun ang importante," be said. "I'm full-blooded American, pero 'yung puso ko, Pinoy talaga." -- Marisse Panaligan/JST, GMA News