Rebels, Filipino soldiers to watch Pacquiao match

COTABATO, Philippines: In a rare common cause, both rebels and soldiers in the war-torn southern Philippines will watch local boxing icon Manny Pacquiao take on Floyd Mayweather, with hopes that Sunday’s mega-bout will bring a brief respite from violence.
The Muslim rebels and government forces will have separate free viewings of the Las Vegas clash, as the nation waits to see whether Pacquiao will triumph during the epic fight.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the country’s largest Muslim armed group, will watch the fight on a widescreen TV at a compound in the southern province of Maguindanao on Sunday, said MILF vice-chairman Ghadzali Jaafar.
“They asked me if they could show it outside my office. I told them okay, I see no problem with that,” Jaafar told AFP.