Senator Pacquiao announced that he will run for president in the 2022 elections.
On Sunday, Senator Manny Pacquiao announced that he will run for president as he accepted the nomination to be the standard-bearer of the PDP-Laban faction co-headed by Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III.
Pacquiao officially accepted the nomination at the PDP-Laban group’s national assembly held Sunday. During his nomination speech, the senator said that he “will always be a fighter” inside and outside the ring.
“Sa ngalan ng mga kababayan natin na matagal nang naghahangad ng tamang pagbabago sa ating pamahalaan, tapat na panunungkulan at serbisyo sa mamamayang Pilipino, buong puso ko po, buong tapang at kababaang loob ay umaasa po ako sa inyong suporta,” Senator Pacquiao said.
The senator also responded to critics questioning his qualifications to run for president, saying that having experienced poverty himself will better equip him to lead the country.
Pacquiao first won a seat as a congressman representing the province of Sarangani in the House of Representatives in 2010, was re-elected in 2013, and won a senatorial post in the 2016 elections.
The PDP-Laban faction gave Pacquiao the authority to choose his running mate and members of their senatorial slate for the upcoming elections during the assembly, but the senator has yet to announce names.
Pacquiao also gave a word of warning against corrupt politicians. He previously accused the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte of being more corrupt than its predecessor.
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Earlier, the Cusi-led PDP-Laban filed a petition before the Commission on Elections to declare Pacquiao and his allies as “illegitimate officers” of the ruling party.
“Kahit ano man ang mangyari, itong ating ipo-proclaim ngayong araw ay kandidato na ng PDP-Laban pagka-pangulo ng ating bansa. Uulitin ko, kahit ano man ang mangyari,” Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said in his own speech before Pacquiao’s announcement.
The PDP-Laban faction headed by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi endorsed Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go and President Rodrigo Duterte as their presidential and vice-presidential candidates, respectively.
Duterte recently accepted the nomination to be the vice-presidential candidate of the party, while Go declined the nomination to be the party’s standard-bearer.
Meanwhile, Pimentel said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB that there were no plans to expel the President from the party.
Pimentel also said that he told his party-mates not to weaponize expulsion, adding that those being expelled should be found to be working against the interests of the party.
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