Manny Pacquiao announces senatorial bid in 2016

No longer a reigning world champion but too young to run for president, boxing icon Manny Pacquiao is setting his sights on the Senate in 2016.

But Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice has reportedly invited Pacquiao twice to join the Liberal Party, a possibility that many here dismissed.

He said that after the end of his second term as congressman, he will continue his public service in “new levels of responsibility”.

Binay has dropped further to third in the September 1-8 surveys of Pulse Asia, trailing Grace Poe and Mar Roxas among the declared presidential candidates for next year’s general elections.

Pacquiao is head of the People’s Champ Movement, a local political party that aligned with Manny Villar’s Nacionalista Party during the 2010 elections.

He has won championships in eight different weight divisions and was named Fighter of the Decade by the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Pacquiao, who is now a member of the Philippine House of Representatives, confirmed his plans to GMA News Online, saying he would formally announce his senatorial bid within the week.

The reaction in social media to Pacquiao’s plans for the Senate was largely negative.

Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, has said that the “Pacman” will fight again either February or April, though the boxer himself said that he can also fight in March. “Not in Congress. Sorry”, one fan posted on Twitter.

However, the Philippine Daily reported early this year that Pacquiao attended only four sessions of Congress in 2014, the fewest of any congressman. “If you are a senator, your focus should only be your job and your family”, he said in the interview.

Pacquiao’s wife Jinkee is not seeing re-election as vice governor of Sarangani, but his brother Rogelio (Roel) Pacquiao is slated run for the congressional seat that Manny will vacate next year.