Philipine Boxer Manny Pacquiao has announced that he will be vying for presidency in the 2022 elections.
Pacquiao who made the declaration while accepting the nomination of a rival group of President Rodrigo Duterte’s ruling party.
“The time is now… we are ready to rise to the challenge of leadership,” said Pacquiao,
Currently, the 42-year old is serving as a senator in the Philippine parliament.
President Duterte has been barred from vying for presidency for another term but he has been picked by the rival party faction to run for vice-president, a move critics say is an attempt to cling to power.
He was selected to run alongside a close ally, Christopher “Bong” Go, but Mr Go says he does not want to succeed Mr Duterte.
While his party says it wants Mr Go to reconsider his decision, his rejection of the nomination has led to suggestions that President Duterte’s daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio could join him on the ticket.
Pacquiao’s announcement comes weeks after the boxer lost a fight to Cuban Yordenis Ugas in Las Vegas.
He entered politics in 2010 as a congressman before being elected to the senate.
Pacquiao has been admired for his generosity and hauling himself out of poverty to become one of the world’s greatest and wealthiest boxers.
His boxing credentials along with fighting poverty and corruption are likely to be the key themes of his campaign.
“For those asking what are my qualifications, have you ever experienced hunger?” Pacquiao asked the national assembly held by the anti-Duterte faction of PDP-Laban.
“Have you ever experienced having nothing to eat, to borrow money from your neighbors or to wait for leftovers at a food stall? The Manny Pacquiao that is in front of you was moulded by poverty,” he further said.
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