Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao was already proclaimed by the National Board of Canvassers composed of the country’s COMELEC commissioners on Thursday afternoon, May 19, 2016. The proclamation of Sen. Manny Pacquiao brings him closer to the presidency as what most people foresee.
Manny Pacquiao has won a seat in the Philippine Senate under the United Nationalist Alliance, the party headed by presidential candidate and outgoing Vice President Jejomar Binay. The 37-year-old Manny Pacquiao has garnered more than 15.5 million votes placing 7th among 12th senators in the 17th Congress.
The world’s only eight-division world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao has been a member of the House of Representatives and was even dubbed as the leading congressman in the list of the highest number of absences in the Philippine Congress. Manny Pacquiao also announced his retirement from professional boxing to become a full-time politician.
Sen. Pacquiao is considered as a national hero in the Philippines because of his achievements in the world of boxing. He was also responsible for an almost-zero crime rate in the Philippines during his every fight, even the opposing rebel groups and the Philippine forces never failed to declare a unilateral ceasefire every time Pacquiao fight internationally.
During the past few years, the former Congressman Pacquiao never hesitated to declare that if given the chance for a national post, he wants to be the President of the Republic of the Philippines but he also often tried to ditch the topic, saying he was too young and inexperienced for the said position.