Manny Pacquiao (L), Philippine lawmaker and world boxing champion, uses his mobile phone to take "selfies" with fellow lawmakers before the start of the joint session of the 16th Congress at the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Que
Manny Pacquiao (L), Philippine lawmaker and world boxing champion, uses his mobile phone to take "selfies" with fellow lawmakers before the start of the joint session of the 16th Congress at the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Quezon city, metro Manila July 28, 2014. REUTERS

A post on Facebook that was shared many times because of the value of two items being compared has sparked a social media debate on which is the real Facebook page of Filipino boxing champ Manny Pacquiao.

The furor started when a Facebook post on Friday, Aug 22, allegedly from the eight-division title holder, offered a P5 million reward for anyone who could lead to the discovery of a gold Rolex watch the boxer left behind in the restroom of a 5-star hotel.

Read: Manny Pacquiao Recovers $585,000 Gold Rolex Watch Left in a Hotel Restroom

The post became viral because of the price tag of the lost watch which led some readers to conclude that it is a hoax because the so-called real Manny Pacquiao FB page is one that is maintained by Top Rank Promotions. It features mostly posts about boxing and the missing watch post was not on this Facebook page, which has 5.2 million likes.

Web site Xolxol.ph published two screenshots of different Manny Pacquiao pages as it raised the possibility that the missing watch post could be a hoax from an unauthorized FB page. The cover photo of Manny Pacquiao fan page, where the boxer allegedly posted the lost watch, shows the congressman's head shot with the Philippine flag as background.

The other one, which Xolxol.com believes is the real one, has as cover photo Pacquiao in the ring with coach Freddie Roach and Ilocos Sur Gov Chavit Singson on his right side. The first Web site, which even has the words "The New Official FB Page of Manny Pacquiao" has been apparently removed from FB, including the post showing the image of a gold Rolex and a red Ferrari side by side.

The latter could convince readers that it is the real Pacquiao FB page since the combined use of English, Pilipino and Cebuano in some of he posts reads like Manny when he is talking. It also had one post apologising to people who asked to be accepted as FB friend since the popular social networking site has a 5,000 limit of friends per FB account. It likewise contained a short video clip of a woman with difficulty in speaking English, with a comment allegedly from Manny claiming he emphatises with the woman's predicament.

Luxie, one of those who commented on the Xolxol.com article, believes the story about the lost watch is a hoax because the post did not even identify the name of the hotel where Pacquiao allegedly lost the timepiece.

At the Comments section of Trendingnewsportal.blogspot.com, Elaine Lat also questioned why the name of the hotel was not given. Kim Oliver even provided a link that is the official fan page of Pacquiao, moderated by Top Rank.

But Stephanie May pointed out the other site stated it is the official Fan Page, to which Oliver retorted that May believes it is really the personal FB page of Pacquiao. May replied she was not convinced, but pointed out the Web site stated it so.

Other readers, however, did not care if the post came from an official or fake fan page. They instead commented on the value of the timepiece, the P5 million finder's reward and calls for the finder to return the expensive watch because they couldn't sell it anyway since Pacquiao, according to another post in the "unofficial" fan page, said he had reported the loss to Rolex.

Another argument that the story could be hoax is that on Monday, the watch was returned, according to the "unofficial" fan page, but Pacquiao did not provide any further details which contrasts with so many information he gave from its care to who else are the owners of the limited edition luxury item.

However, it should also be noted that when the post was made, Pacquiao was in Macau, the first leg of his 6-city promo tour with American boxer Chris Algieri, so if indeed the story was true, he could have just made a quick post to inform followers that the watch has been returned.

To date, no official confirmation or denial has been issued by either Pacquiao or Top Rank about the issue, which means it remains a big question mark if the story is hoax or true.

But it only confirmed that a lot of netizens are interested in Pacquiao's life, whether it's the bling that hangs on his wrist, the starlets he had affairs in the past, his ongoing legal battle with the Philippine taxwoman or his Nov 23 bout with Algieri.

Read: Boxing News 2014: Pacquiao KOs Philippine Taxman as Supreme Court Stops Agency from Requiring P4.2 Billion Surety Bond from Champ