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Can living legend Manny Pacquiao become Philippine president? - Nikkei Asia

Boxing hero needs a campaign strategy that appeals to voters

 

BANGKOK -- The "Duterte drama" that attracted public attention has come to an unexciting end as Sara Duterte, the eldest daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte, did not run for president and her father decided to run for senator, not vice president.

The Philippines will hold its first presidential election in six years in May 2022. Presidential and vice presidential candidates had to file by early October but could change their candidacies until Nov. 15.

Since the president is banned from reelection under the constitution, Duterte cannot run in the coming presidential election.

 

Public attention focused on whether Sara Duterte would announce her candidacy for president, although she had said in October that she was aiming only for reelection as the mayor of the southern city of Davao, and on whether her father would run for vice president, although he had expressed his intention to retire from politics.

The two filed their candidacies at the last minute, but for lower posts than expected: vice president for her and senator for him. The father showed discontent at his daughter's "loss by default." He, however, would be able to keep watch over the next government if elected as a senator from the nationwide constituency, while she would be able to aim for the presidency if elected as vice president.

He has the risk of being prosecuted after leaving the presidency for leading cruel investigations into drug crimes without regard for human rights, so he would surely want to maintain minimum power to protect himself.

A presidential election without Sara Duterte, who was seen as the favorite, will still be contested by interesting candidates.

In a survey conducted in late October by Social Weather Stations, former Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., 64, the eldest son of the late President Ferdinand Marcos, who imposed a long and dictatorial rule, turned out to be the most popular candidate, with 47% support, followed by Vice President Leni Robredo, 56, with 18% and Isko Moreno, 47, mayor of Manila, with 13%.

What seems surprising is that Sen. Manny Pacquiao, 42, a former professional boxer, came in a poor fourth with a support rate of 9%.

"Initially, I thought that Manny Pacquiao would rate high as a candidate for president considering he is very popular here," said Marites Vitug, editor-at-large of Rappler, an influential Filipino online media company. "But with the results of early polls, I think Filipino voters are able to separate him as a boxer and as a politician."

Pacquiao as a boxer is certainly a living legend.

He was born into a poor farming family on the southern island of Mindanao. His parents divorced when he was a child. He dropped out of middle school and helped his mother by selling cigarettes and doughnuts on the street. He began amateur boxing for the prize money, though small. It is said that he got only 100 pesos ($1.98) for his professional debut match at the age of 16.

He later became a man who embodied the "Filipino dream."

While increasing his body weight by more than 20 kg, he defeated opponents with more powerful physiques one after another. He became the second boxer in history, after Oscar De La Hoya of the U.S., to win major titles in six weight divisions. In 2008, he defeated De La Hoya, and although he lost to Floyd Mayweather of the U.S. by decision in the "fight of the century" in 2015, he excited the world. In the Philippines, it is said that it is difficult to find someone who is not one of his fans.

Meanwhile, his reputation as a politician is never fine.

He failed in his first attempt to run as a member of the lower house in 2007 but then was elected to the lower house in 2010 and 2013, and in 2016 he took office as one of the only 24 senators. As an evangelical Christian, he worked to enact the National Bible Day Act. However, he has often been criticized for his low rate of attendance at the legislature, as he remained an active boxer. He also caused repercussions after confessing to drug use in his teens and making remarks comparing homosexuals to animals.

In September, Pacquiao declared his candidacy in the presidential election, parting company with Duterte, who also hails from Mindanao. On the slogan "Man of Destiny," he puts forth campaign promises of fighting poverty, corruption and drugs. He says he is determined to retire from boxing and run a fruit farm in the south of the country if he fails to become president.

In the Philippines, where party politics do not work well and policy and ideological differences among political candidates are unclear, presidential elections have been strongly influenced by candidates' personal popularity and their speech and behavior.

Pacquiao's candidacy reminds everyone of former President Joseph Estrada.

Estrada entered politics with an image as a "rogue for justice," a role for which he had gained popularity as a film actor. After serving as senator and vice president, he ran in the 1998 presidential election. He advocated "politics for the poor," kept by far the top spot in opinion polls, and won a crushing victory over other candidates, including the lower house speaker, who had been named by then-President Fidel Ramos to succeed him. Although Estrada was driven to step down in only two and a half years because of corruption allegations, he was elected as mayor of Manila in 2013 and has retained influence in politics.

Pacquiao also has an image as a tough guy and shows a stance to think of the poor. As a world boxing champion, he may have even greater charisma than Estrada, who turned to politics from the fictional world of acting.

Why is his candidacy drawing a dull response from voters?

"Promising escape from poverty and going to populism that offers lavish spending is a traditional style of Philippine politics. It worked at the time of Mr. Estrada, but it has already become old-fashioned," said Wataru Kusaka, an associate professor at Nagoya University in Japan.

A change was visible in the previous presidential election in 2016. Duterte received applause by boasting, "I will kill bad guys" but scarcely tried to win voters' favor by promising lavish spending.

There is no doubt that the change has resulted from economic growth. Poor people who lived on less than $3.20 a day accounted for 43% of the country's population in 1998, but the proportion fell nearly by half over the subsequent 20 years, to 23% in 2019, according to the World Bank. In the 2016 presidential election, expectations for a strong leader who could overthrow the political and economic dominance of the traditional elite and bring discipline allowed Duterte to be elected.

In addition, the change also reflects the fact that poor people who are reaching for richness have become tired of the old-fashioned slogan "politics friendly to the poor," Kusaka pointed out.

Even after declaring his candidacy for president, Pacquiao has openly distributed cash while stumping around the country, arousing criticism. Although the election commission is watching his actions calmly, saying they do not constitute vote-buying until the start of official campaigning in February, his conduct gives the impression that he has fallen behind voters' changing awareness.

That said, there is something similar to the time when Estrada was running for the president. That presidential election came shortly after the Asian financial crisis. Although the crisis did not have a very serious direct impact on the Philippine economy, the growth rate fell from 5.2% in 1997 to minus 0.5% in 1998, and "politics for the poor" could easily appeal to the people.

In 2020, the Philippine economy was hit by the coronavirus pandemic and recorded a negative growth rate of 9.6%. It is uncertain how the people's suffering from the pandemic and repeated restrictions on their activities will influence the presidential election half a year away.

Pacquiao has been called the "national fist" by Filipino people. On days when he entered the ring, everyone was absorbed in watching the match on television, with the crime rate falling and soldiers from both the national military and Islamic forces suspending fighting in the long civil conflict.

Can the hero who has obtained more than enough fortune and fame convert the people's respect for the peerless boxer into support for the politician? A strategy for effectively conveying what he can do for the people, rather than simply distributing money, will be necessary for him to play a key role in the election campaign that will begin in earnest next year.

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  • 1 month later...

Mommy Dionisia worried sa pagtakbo ni Manny Pacquiao: Baka maubos ang kwarta Bandera | Bandera (inquirer.net)

Therese Arceo Bandera February 10, 2022 - 06:39 PM

 

NAG-AALALA ang ina ng Pambansang Kamao na si Mommy Dionisia para sa kanyang anak na si Sen. Manny Pacquiao na kasalukuyang tumatakbo sa pagkapresidente sa darating na May 2022 elections.

Isa rin siya sa mga nagbigay ng pahayag sa ginanap na proclamation rally ng anak sa Oval Plaza Grandstand ng General Santos nitong February 8.

agbaliktanaw si Mommy Dionesia noong mga panahon na unang beses pumasok si Sen. Manny sa pulitika na talaga namang umubos umano ng “sako-sakong” salapi ng anak.

“Noong tumatakbo pa siya for the first time dito sa General Sabtis, umiyak ako kasi ilang sako na ng pera ang nakita kong nawala,” saad ni Mommy Dionesia.

Aniya, agad raw itong napansin ng ka yang mga kaibigan na nag-aalala rin daw sa kanila dahil baka nga maubos ang kanilang pera.

“Sabi pa ng mga amiga ko, ‘Mommy, ang anak mo bigay nang bigay ng pera. Baka maubos ang kwarta’,” dagdag pa ni Mommy Dionisia.

At ngayon ngang ang pinakamataas na posisyon ang gustong makamtan ni Sen. Manny Pacquiao ay biniro niya ito na baka mas malaki pa sa tuna ng General Santos ang magastos na pera ng kanyang anak.

“Ito presidente na! Sabi ko, ‘Manny, iba na talaga ito kasi buong bansa na, mas malaki pa sa bariles ng Gen San!” pabirong saad ni Mommy Dionisia.

Wala namang nagawa si Sen. Manny kundi ang matawa na lang sa mga sinabi ng kanyang ina. Maski ang mga kasama nito sa stage at ang mga taga-suporta na present sa kanyang proclamation rally labis na naaliw sa ina ng Pambansang Kamao.

Sa kabila ng pagbibiro ni Mommy Dionisia ay bakas naman ang labis na suporta nito sa desisyon ng kanyang anak.

Aniya pa, handa siyang tulungan at suportahan ang anak sa kanyang laban para sa pinakamataas na posisyon sa buong bansa.

Sa huli ay nagpasalamat ito sa lahat ng mga sumusuporta sa anak.

 

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