MANILA: Filipino boxing icon Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Pacquiao vowed to fight corruption as he filed his bid to become president of the Philippines on Friday.
The country’s best-known athlete — already a senator — announced his retirement from boxing on Wednesday so that he will be free to contest the presidential election scheduled for May 9, 2022.
Pacquiao, accompanied by his wife Jinkee and running mate, house deputy speaker Lito Atienza, was the first presidential hopeful to file his candidacy with the Commission on Elections as the Oct. 1-8 registration period began.
Pacquiao — formerly party president of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) before being ousted by a faction loyal to President Rodrigo Duterte — vowed to fight corruption if elected. He has repeatedly accused Duterte’s administration of being crooked since the two parted ways earlier this year.
“Those taking advantage of the nation, stealing, robbing the Filipino people … your days of taking advantage in the government are numbered,” the boxing champion said. “If the Lord places me there, I promise not only to the Filipino people, but also to God, that you all need to go to jail together in order to give justice to our people, for the economy to grow, and to allow true change to happen.”
He also promised to strengthen the economy, “handle” the COVID-19 pandemic, improve internet speeds and lower electricity rates.
The 42-year-old boxer was nominated by allies in PDP-Laban’s anti-Duterte faction. The other faction has endorsed Senator Christopher Go for the presidency, with Duterte as his running mate. The constitution bars Duterte from seeking a second six-year term in the May election.
As PDP-Laban has nominated two candidates, the election commission said on Friday it would determine within a month which of its factions is a “legitimate” party.
While Pacquiao’s fans have widely expressed their support for his candidacy, some experts question the political viability of one history’s greatest boxers.
“Let’s put it bluntly, he’s offering nothing new,” Ateneo Policy Center senior research fellow Michael Henry Yusingco said in a TV interview on Friday. “He doesn’t know what is required to be president of the country.”
He added that Pacquaio’s running mate’s credentials as a legislator and local executive are in his favor, but may not be enough to convince “doubters” about the boxer’s presidential bid.
“There will still be questions about his competence in running the government,” Yusingco said.
Institute for Political and Electoral Reform executive director Ramon Casiple told Arab News earlier this week that Pacquiao “lacks maturity in politics and leadership.”
“His sincerity is there, we can see that,” Casiple said. “But sincerity is not enough. Leadership and quality are what people want to see, especially now that we are faced with the pandemic and economic crisis.”