Manny Pacquiao returns to politics

  Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao has suffered four losses in his career. Three were to rival boxers and the fourth was to Philippine congresswoman Darlene Antonino-Custodio for the congressional seat in the First District of South Cotabato, home to General Santos City, the Tuna Capital of the Philippines. The pound for pound boxing champion of ...

576076_091201_PassportPacquiao2.jpg
576076_091201_PassportPacquiao2.jpg

 

 

Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao has suffered four losses in his career. Three were to rival boxers and the fourth was to Philippine congresswoman Darlene Antonino-Custodio for the congressional seat in the First District of South Cotabato, home to General Santos City, the Tuna Capital of the Philippines.

The pound for pound boxing champion of the world will return to politics, this time running in the neighboring district of Sarangani.  The seat will be left vacant for the 2010 elections due to term limits. Pacquiao will be supported by his own party, the People’s Champ Movement (Here’s hoping Freddie Roach will stay on as campaign manager).

As far as a platform goes, Pac Man told the AP in March, “I want to help [the poor] because I know what they feel right now. It is not easy to help other people. That is a big responsibility. I will focus on that for the meantime.”

He told reporters yesterday, “I want only good things for Sarangani… I will work for children, for the health of our countrymen and for their livelihood.”

Pacquiao does indeed know what poverty feels like, growing up poor in a country where 30 million people live on less than a dollar a day. He worked as both a baker and a construction worker before he became known as the Mexicutioner.

If he wins the seat, it is not clear if he will fight Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. as was expected. This would surely be a disappointment to millions of fans who would like nothing more than to see “Money” knocked out. This will also play a vital role in his bid for a congressional seat; his 2007 loss is often credited to many of his fans who voted against him to make sure he would stay in the ring.

Covering this campaign (the new greatest job in journalism) will also be a Christmas-come-early for hundreds of political writers who will undoubtedly use the politics as boxing analogy ad nauseam. (E.g. Gets back in the ring, ready for a fight, trades jabs, throws in the towel)

NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images 

Bobby Pierce is an editorial researcher at Foreign Policy.

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