Manny Pacquiao faces his biggest fight yet as anti-LGBT, pro-execution boxer runs for Philippines presidency

The sportsman-turned-politician has retired from boxing to focus on his presidential bid – but will he be punching above his weight?

He is one of the greatest boxers of all time, but Manny Pacquiao faces his biggest battle yet as he fights to be president of the Philippines.

The 42-year-old is already a controversial political figure thanks to his anti-LGBT remarks and support of the death penalty.

Some also have doubts about his competency to lead the country, and have speculated that his retirement from boxing is largely down to a need to mend his poor political reputation.

The boxing star has been a senator in the Philippines since 2016 and announced his retirement from his sport on 29 September after 26 years. “I just heard the final bell. Boxing is over,” he said. “I never thought this day would come.”

Jean Encinas-Franco, associate professor of political science at the University of the Philippines Diliman, told i that Pacquiao is regarded an “absentee legislator” because he was frequently out of the country for fights, and is seen as having “neglected his duties”.

The boxer – who has won 62 fights, lost eight and drawn two and is the sport’s only world champion in four different decades and eight weight classes – says he wants to focus on his bid for next year’s presidential election.

Now, he faces another monumental struggle to convince the population he is the ideal leader.

“He has disappointed several LGBT groups because he has expressed statements saying that he is not in favour of same-sex union,” said Professor Encinas-Franco.

In a 2016 television interview, Pacquiao said gay people “were worse than animals”.

More recently, he said he was not in favour of same-sex marriage and did not support the country’s Sogie bill, which seeks to ban discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation and gender identity.

He has sought to justify his anti-LGBT remarks by saying they stem from his beliefs as a devout Christian, but Professor Encinas-Franco said this excuse was “confusing” given that he is also in favour of the death penalty.

Pacquiao said in 2016 that he would like to see drug criminals executed by firing squad, adding: “But it depends on what the people want, as long as death penalty is imposed.”

He has expressed support for current president Rodrigo Duterte, who has ordered the extrajudicial killings of thousands of people, both criminals and addicts, in the country’s brutal “war on drugs”.

Duterte has been condemned by human rights groups including Amnesty International, which claims that more than 7,000 people were killed in the Philippines between July 2016 and January 2017 under his orders.

The International Criminal Court has authorised an official probe into the killings.

Pacquiao, who has admitted taking “all kinds of drugs” as a teenager, defended Duterte, saying in 2016 that the leader was chosen by God to “discipline the people”.

However, despite international opprobrium, the war on drugs has support from the Filipino public, said Professor Encinas-Franco.

“Drug addiction has a huge stigma in the Philippines, people feel the drug war keeps their villages secure and safe,” she said. “That will certainly be something that the Manny Pacquiao camp has to grapple with during the campaign period.”

Pacquiao’s weak political accomplishments present another challenge for him given the big names he is up against.

Duterte’s daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio, has topped opinion polls, despite publicly stating she will not stand for presidency.

Rumours that she will run have persisted, especially given that her father withdrew from the vice-presidency race and said he is retiring from politics this weekend, fuelling speculation that he was clearing the way for her presidential run.

On Tuesday the son and namesake of the late Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos also declared that he will run for president, ending speculation about his political ambitions.

“We have a personality-based electoral system, the political parties are not well developed or institutionalised,” Professor Encinas-Franco said.

“The political families are the ones deciding or recruiting people to fill the space in the electoral contest.

“Manny Pacquiao is viewed as someone who is not competent to take on issues that are very important. We need to think about how we are going to get out of the pandemic and recover from Covid.

“This is not an ordinary term, which is going to be difficult for him.”

One advantage Pacquiao has is his celebrity status – movies stars have in the past become senators, governors and even president in the country.

Joseph Estrada, who was a popular film actor in the 60s and 70s, was president between 1998 and 2001, but his term was cut short after he faced allegations of plundering $85m (£62m) of government money, and he was ousted during massive military-backed protests.

“It’s actually not surprising that Manny Pacquiao would even think of running,” Professor Encinas-Franco said. “Because it is something that has been possible in our electoral memories.

“But he’s unlikely to win. His entire political life hasn’t prepared him for what’s to come.”

Source: inews.co.uk, Taz Ali, October 5, 2021

Marcos heir says will run for Philippines presidency

The son and namesake of the Philippines' former dictator Ferdinand Marcos has said he will run for president in the 2022 election

The son and namesake of the Philippines' former dictator Ferdinand Marcos said Tuesday he will run for president in the 2022 election, as the controversial clan seeks the ultimate political revival.

Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr -- who has defended President Rodrigo Duterte's controversial drug war and supported the death penalty for traffickers -- declared his candidacy in a Facebook Live broadcast.

"I am today announcing my intention to run for the presidency of the Philipines in the upcoming May 2022 elections," the 64-year-old political scion said, joining a growing field of contenders seeking to replace Duterte.

"I will bring... unifying leadership back to our country."

Marcos Jr was in 2nd place behind Duterte's daughter, Sara, in a recent PulseAsia Research survey of voter preference for president, though she has denied plans to run.

Boxing great Manny Pacquiao and celebrity mayor Francisco Domagoso have confirmed they will seek the top job.

A tilt for the country's highest office comes after Marcos Jr's failed bid for the vice presidency in 2016, which he narrowly lost to Leni Robredo.

Losing the election was a blow for the Marcos family, which had gone into exile in the United States after the patriarch's humiliating downfall in 1986.

He and his wife Imelda were accused of massive corruption while in power.

Political comeback

Marcos Jr accused Robredo of electoral fraud and spent nearly 5 years waging a legal battle challenging the vote.

The country's top court dismissed the protest in February.

"Let us bring Filipinos back to one another in service of our country, facing the crisis and the challenges of the future together," Marcos Jr said Tuesday.

"Join me in this noblest of causes, and we will succeed."

If Marcos Jr's presidential bid succeeds, it would be a remarkable political comeback for the family.

Imelda has said previously she dreams of her son -- a senator from 2010 to 2016 -- becoming the country's leader.

The family matriarch served three straight terms in the lower House of Representatives before being succeeded by her nephew.

Marcos Jr's sister Imee is a senator.

Duterte ally

Duterte is an ally of the Marcos family, which got a boost from his 2016 election victory.

His government gave the ex-dictator's remains a hero's burial and publicly floated the idea of winding down the hunt for his hidden wealth.

Analysts predict a possible Marcos Jr-Sara Duterte alliance for the 2022 election, which they say would be a formidable combination attracting votes from their respective strongholds in the north, centre and south of the country.

The Philippines' election season kicked off Friday as celebrities and political scions flocked to the offices of the elections commission to file their nominations.

The process launches a typically noisy and deadly seven months of campaigning for more than 18,000 positions.

But the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic downturn caused by lockdowns is expected to dampen the atmosphere.

Source: Agence France-Presse, Staff, October 5, 2021

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