July 12, 2021
Twitter/MannyPacquiao
Eight years ago, world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao set his sights on a goal outside the ring: the Philippine presidency. Little did he know that in President Rodrigo Duterte, he would face his toughest opponent yet.
He couldn’t do it immediately; he was in his mid-30s at the time, and the country’s constitution specifies that presidential candidates must be at least 40 years old on election day. So he took his time, preparing for the upcoming political battle as methodically as he had for his 71 career bouts.
Pacquiao first flirted with public office in 2007, but his run for Congress in the province of South Cotabato was stopped in its tracks by Darlene Antonino-Custodio, who graciously said Filipinos were not prepared to lose their boxing icon to the country’s chaotic politics.