There will seemingly be a few hours of undeclared truce between security forces and enemies of Philippine government Sunday as the entire country is expected to be glued in the 12-round rumble between Filipino pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao and British slugger Ricky Hatton.

Every fight of Pacquiao for the past few years has been marked with zero-crime incident based on the record of the Philippine National Police (PNP), attributing the peaceful atmosphere that even the petty street criminals have been watching the Filipino ring icon who earned the moniker “Pambansang Kamao.”

On the part of the military, newly-installed military chief Lieutenant General Victor Ibrado will lead today the 125,000-strong Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in cheering for their comrade, Pacquiao who is an Army reservist with a rank of Master Sergeant.

Lieutenant Colonel Romeo Brawner, the new chief military information officer, said Ibrado will join a number of soldiers and their dependents in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City for the live coverage of the fight.

Asked where Ibrado would watch the fight as there will be two live coverage of the Pacquiao-Hatton fight in Camp Aguinaldo, Brawner said: “Siyempre dun sa libre.”

Brawner is referring to the free showing of the fight at the AFP-Wellness Center in Camp Aguinaldo. The other live coverage will be at the AFP Theater, only that, it’s for those who can afford to buy tickets.

Aside from Camp Aguinaldo, free showing of the boxing bout dubbed as the “Battle of East and West” will also be done in other major military major camps in Metro Manila such as the Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Navy headquarters on Roxas Boulevard and Air Force headquarters in Villamor Airbase, and even in other AFP camps in some provinces.

The live screening of Pacquiao-Hatton battle will also be done in Sulu, thanks to Major General Juancho Sabban, commander of Joint Task Force Comet, who decided to treat his men and local residents.

Lieutenant Colonel Edgard Arevalo, Sulu-based military spokesman of the Red Cross kidnapping, said only those soldiers who are not involved in the operation against the Abu Sayyaf holding Italian Red Cross staffer Eugenio Vagni are allowed to watch the free screening in Sulu.

“We opened it also for civilians and MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front) personel as part of our non-combat military operations,” said Arevalo.

“This move is a gesture of support where the country unites and prays for the fight of Pacquiao,” he added.

But while some soldiers will be busy in the hunt against the renegade Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Central Mindanao, the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan and Sulu and communist rebels in the countryside, they could still be updated via updates through local radio stations.

Brawner said it has become a tradition for the military to sponsor a free showing of Pacquiao’s battle in the ring, which started off during the time of retired AFP chief of staff General Alexander Yano, Pacman’s friend and avid fan.

It was recalled that it was Yano who initiated giving promotion to Pacquiao every after his successful bout, which was stopped during his trilogy with Mexican legend Eric Morales as he was no longer allowed to be promoted since a rank of officer, which is the next rank after master sergeant, requires a college degree.

“Win or lose, Manny will still be the soldier’s hero,” said Brawner.

On the Philippine National Police (PNP), some police stations in Metro Manila and other parts of the country have been treating both the cops and the detained criminal suspects to Pacquiao fight, mostly through delayed telecast of sponsor television network.

The Negros Occidental Police, however, declared full alert status for all its units in the province as part of the security measure of the Pacman-Hatton fight.

“We join the entire Philippine National Police in ensuring the safety of Negrenses and their properties as well as vital installations during the duration of the said bout,” said Chief inspector Rico Santotome, Negros Occidental Police spokesman.

“While Negrenses are glued on their respective television sets and other places where the fight will be broadcast live, police personnel of various cities and municipalities in the province will monitor the situation and at the same time, provide police visibility especially on places of convergence to avoid any untoward incident to happen while the fight is in progress,” he added.