Mr Pacquiao made the announcement while addressing constituents in his home province of Sarangani in the south. He did not say which party he planned to join to run for the senate.
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Philippine boxing hero Manny Pacquiao said Monday he plans to run for a post in the influential Philippine Senate despite a lacklustre stint as a congressman. But as to which party, that’s still to be determined. “I’ve been boxing for more than 20 years”, Pacquiao said.
“I will not be absent because the whole country would be my responsibility”, he said.
The son of late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos has announced that he will run for vice president in next year’s elections in a new gauge of his family’s political clout almost three decades after they were ousted in a “people power” revolt.
Pacquiao was elected into Congress for Saragani and has remained undefeated for the last two terms, while his wife Jinkee has also entered politics and was elected as Vice-Governor of Sarangani.
Malacañang Presidential Palace has been cold to Pacquiao with BIR Commissioner Kim Henares initiating a tax evasion case against the billionaire world boxing champion.
Pacquiao, who had won world championships in various weight divisions, fought and lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr.in May in the bout deemed as the richest and biggest in the history of boxing in recent years.
In the ring, Pacquiao boasts a 57-6-2 record and is largely considered to be one of the best boxers of his generation.
While still retaining his popularity among sports fans, Pacquiao has been harshly criticised for his performance in the House of Representatives where he has been listed among the legislators with the most absences.
Reactions on social media, particularly Twitter, have been mostly negative.
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Pacquiao has already been linked with the likes of Amir Khan and Lucas Matthysse when he returns to the ring following surgery to a shoulder injury he picked up in the run-up to his Mayweather showdown.
