Pacquiao watches Philippine presidency as he fights for boxing crown Boxing news

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Manila, Philippines – Manny Pacquiao, eight-time world boxing champion and senator from the Philippines, faces Cuban Yordenis Ugás in Las Vegas on Saturday night in a high-stakes fight that could kick off his campaign to be the next president of his country.

Although Pacquiao, 42, has focused on politics for the past two years, regaining his previous boxing title as world welterweight champion would serve to remind Filipinos of a man’s life story. he won their hearts (and votes) during his first athletic stage.

“Fighting boxing is just an advantage,” Monaco Puentevella, Pacquiao’s political spokesman, told Al Jazeera.

“After the Las Vegas fight, it will be the biggest fight of his life in May next year, and if he wins [over Ugás], it will only add more mileage and inspire more people to support it. “

Philippines goes to the polls to elect a new president to replace the self-proclaimed tough man Rodrigo Duterte in May 2022 and, although Pacquaio has not yet said so himself, his intention to run for the best job it has long been an open secret.

“He is about to run. He’s been watching it for a long time and just wants to finish this boxing match. He told me I tell everyone categorically that he will run, ”Puentevella said.

Until recently, Pacquiao was well positioned for a presidential candidacy. He became president of Duterte’s political party, PDP-Laban, in December 2020 and it looked like the machinery behind Duterte was preparing for Pacquiao. Duterte, himself, even referred to the boxer as “the next president of the Philippines.”

But Duterte, who is only allowed to serve a single six-year term, risks possible problems when he retires in less than a year.

A complaint by the International Criminal Court against him for crimes against humanity is advancing and the court may order his arrest. Rights groups opposed to their violent “war on drugs” have also pledged to file similar lawsuits in local courts as soon as they lose legal immunity.

Unable to run for a second term, Duterte has said he wants to run for vice president and, judging by the recent actions of his close allies, has indicated he would prefer the most important job left in the family.

“The president is worried if someone, apart from his daughter, runs and wins [the presidency], the president knows he will be charged in the International Criminal Court, “Puentevella said.

“So now, to make sure he doesn’t end up in jail, there is no other politician who can help him except his daughter.”

Eliminated as party president

Beginning in June, members of the PDP-Laban associated with Rodrigo Duterte began lobbying for his daughter, Sara Duterte, to run as the party’s presidential candidate. Pacquiao opposed the idea, apparently because Sara Duterte was not a member of the party.

“We give others a chance,” Pacquiao said in an interview with ABS-CBN News, which has yet to confirm whether it intends to run for president.

In mid-July, while Pacquiao was camping in Hollywood to train for his next party, Duterte-loyal PDP-Laban members gathered outside Manila and declared the party leadership positions vacant, effectively eliminating Pacquiao as the president.

Pacquiao declared the meeting invalid and the party split with the two men claiming legitimacy and numbers.

“Like a show of strength, while [the Duterte faction] they had their meeting in an elegant hotel, more than a hundred chapters met all over the country, some on the street, others under a tree, others in a small courtyard, ”said the PDP-Laban executive director. Ron Munsayac, who is loyal to Pacquiao, told Al Jazeera.

“We have just shown that the members of the PDP-Laban base are alive and kicking and they want their voices to be heard. They are lucky to have a leader like Manny Pacquiao who gives them a voice within the party,” he said. add.

Whatever the mood of the match, Pacquiao has lost any chance of getting Duterte’s support for a potential career, and that could undermine his campaign.

“Always, the letters are stacked against the one fighting the administration,” said Clarita Carlos, a professor of political science at the University of the Philippines.

While Pacquiao, 42, has focused on politics for the past two years, regaining the boxing title as world welterweight champion would serve to remind Filipinos of the life story of a man who has won the heart. [File: Eloisa Lopez/Reuters]

“I was underestimated”

Pacquaio is not worried. He is used to being despised.

“They might have underestimated me, but they don’t know what I’m thinking. It’s even better that I underestimate myself because, in my life from the beginning, in my experience, I couldn’t do the Philippines [boxing] the team because they despised me, ”Pacquiao said in a Hollywood video message to the PDP-Laban who was loyal to him.

He was reacting to Duterte who described him as “ignorant” of the country’s issues. The irascible president had taken offense at the senator’s criticism of his policies on the South China Sea dispute with Beijing and allegations of corruption by his administration.

Having grown up poor, Pacquiao dropped out of school and lacks the brilliant eloquence often expected of politicians of his stature. Some of his critics have used his lack of formal education to suggest that he is not qualified for public office.

“But because of my determination, hard work and discipline, I was able to achieve my dreams and more. My fight for PDP-Laban is for small people, ”Pacquiao continued.

Pacquiao’s narrative resembles that of Duterte, who identified with the poor and devoted himself to his collective grievances against the elite-dominated establishment to propel him to victory.

The two men come from the Mindanao region, the geographical, political and economic south of the Philippines, and speak with the characteristic accent of the region that immediately differentiates them from the traditional elite.

But unlike Duterte, a lawyer for a middle-class family who spent 20 years as mayor of Davao City, Pacquiao really came out of the street and came out of poverty through boxing.

Duterte perpetuates the myth of his “simple life” by sharing photos of his half-timbered house in Davao, walking around with worn shoes and speaking gutter language. He refuses to disclose his bank accounts or even provide a list of his assets – mandatory for government officials – to dispel allegations of ill-gotten wealth.

Pacquiao and his family, on the other hand, are proud of the fortune he has made from boxing. His wife may have generated controversy by posting photos of his designer handbags on social media, but Pacquaio has earned a reputation for being generous with his wealth.

“From what I feel about the kind of things and activities that [Pacquiao] yes, he really has a generous heart, a compassionate heart, to the extent that if he can, he really helps people, ”Carlos, the political analyst at Al Jazeera, said.

Pacquiao’s personal narrative needs no healing, and would have been a surefire formula for winning the presidency at another time. But the current political scene in the Philippines is full of personalities with strong narratives, most of them more cunning and experienced politicians than Pacquiao.

“There will be many, many other names,” Carlos said. “It will be a difficult campaign for anyone.”

“It’s already a legend”

But the sudden fall with Pacquaio could also further tarnish Durterte, who is under pressure for his mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as for the upcoming ICC investigation.

Pacquiao had been a staunch supporter of Duterte’s controversial controversies, especially the anti-narcotics campaign, according to advocacy groups, which killed up to 30,000 people, according to human rights groups. He also pushed for a bill to reinstate the death penalty at Duterte’s urging.

“The president is in survival mode,” said Antonio Antogop Jr., a former Duterte militant who now leads a movement pushing Pacquiao to run for president.

Antogop said he had campaigned among “people running on the beaches” for Duterte, who he believed would help improve their lives.

“I thought Duterte could be our man because he’s like us, from Davao and all,” Antogop told Al Jazeera. “Unfortunately, we failed miserably.”

Many of Duterte’s disillusioned supporters are now heading to Pacquiao, he said.

“I can’t mention their names, but many who were with Duterte before are now with us. Some of its operators are now also here with us, ”Antogop said.

Even political heavyweights are considering alliances with Pacquiao.

Last week, Vice President Leni Robredo, of the opposition Liberal Party, said she was in “exploratory talks” with Pacquiao’s camp. The opposition needs a marketable champion and Pacquiao can be.

Meanwhile, Duterte’s supporters within the PDP-Laban have announced that they will present Senator Bong Go, formerly Duterte’s aide and still his closest associate, as a presidential candidate. Unlike Sara Duterte, Go is a member of the party.

“I hope it’s true,” Puentevella, a spokesman for Pacquiao, said. Opinion polls show significant popularity behind Sara Duterte. Melvin Matibag, of the Duterte faction, denied speculation that Go is a representative of a last-minute change with the president’s daughter.

It is unfortunate that the whole scenario depends on personalities like Pacquiao and the Dutertes, Carlos said, because it demonstrates how the political parties in the Philippines are built virtually around personalities rather than policies or principles.

“Unfortunately, we only see faces, but we do not see government programs. As a voting public, we would like to see the candidates talk about what to do with the next pandemic and what to do with the deplorable state of our education system, for example, ”said Carlos.

Even now, Pacquiao makes the same generic promises made by Duterte and all other previous presidents.

“If God wills, when the time comes, mark my word: a new day will arise in our country, bringing real hope, prosperity and peace,” he said in his video message.

Supporters of these charismatic figures rarely ask about details. For them, the medium is the message.

That’s why Pacquiao’s match against Ugás could be so significant.

“Imagine the parade of victory if you win. Everyone will want a piece of him, the idol of the masses. It will be a great boost for his candidacy, to the point that some people in this country are now praying for him to lose, ”said Puentevella.

“His problem is, win or lose, he’s already a legend,” he added.

“Manny Pacquiao is Manny Pacquiao.”

Until a very public political dispute in recent months, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Manny Pacquiao, both from the southern island of Mindanao, were close political allies. [File: Manman Dejeto/AFP]

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