Star Philippine boxer Pacquiao declares he'll fight for senate seat

Oct 08, 2015 Philippine boxing champion and congressman Manny Pacquiao recently announced his bid to run for a Senate seat in the country’s 2016 national elections. As a second-term congressman, Pacquiao has authored 15 bills and co-authored 27 others, mostly promoting social welfare and sports-related causes.

The 36 year old, who is also an army reservist, officially announced his candidacy saying:

“Formally I announce my candidacy for senator… “My reason for running is because I want to impart and give people the help that they should receive.”

Manny’s boxing matches have often brought the country to a standstill. Even some Maoist rebels and Islamist extremists have sometimes paused to watch telecasts of his fights.

So with 54 million Filipinos heading to the polls in May to vote, Manny will be banking on his popularity to grab one of the 12 Senate seats.