Presidential candidate Manny Pacquiao casts vote for Philippine elections

Boxing legend-turned-politician Manny Pacquiao cast his vote on Monday as the Philippines votes for its new President.

Boxing’s only eight-division world champion posted a photo of himself on his social media accounts showing his index finger with electoral ink. ‘PacMan’ was among the 10 presidential hopefuls that vied for the highest seat in the country.

Check out Manny Pacquiao’s Twitter post:

Pacquiao was recognized by ESPN as the No.2 best pound-for-pound fighter of the last 25 years in 2016, trailing his former rival, Floyd Mayweather Jr. In 2015, Pacquiao faced 'Money' in a fight billed as 'Fight of the Century'. He lost on the scorecards after going the full 12 rounds.

After losing to Yordenis Ugas via unanimous decision in 2021, the Filipino slugger decided to retire from boxing to chase the Philippine presidency.

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Manny Pacquiao’s political career

The 43-year-old Pacquiao started his political career with a failed congressional candidacy in 2007. Three years later, he won a seat in the lower chamber of Congress in 2010, representing Sarangani province.

Since then, he has juggled his time between politics and fighting—earning him the reputation of being among the top absentees in Congress.

After two terms as a Congressman, he was elected as Senator in 2016 and is up for re-election this year. Instead of seeking another term, he ran for president.

As a Senator, Pacquiao notably aligned himself with the Duterte government. He was also heavily criticized for advocating for the death penalty and for saying that Filipino LGBT members are “worse than animals.”

In spite of the boxer-turned-politician’s conservative political views and controversial affiliations, many Filipinos were able to put aside his politics and still revere him as a boxing icon. His rags-to-riches story has also inspired many young Filipinos to try their luck in boxing, thus helping the sport become more popular in the basketball-obsessed country.

In his presidential bid, Pacquiao has made fighting corruption and poverty the centerpiece of his campaign. However, despite his money and fame, he lagged behind in pre-election surveys. According to the latest poll, he is only the third most preferred candidate, trailing former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Leni Robredo.

Pacquiao appeared unfazed by his underwhelming performance in the surveys and was convinced that the working class would deliver the votes for him on election day.