Angry At Corruption And Duterte-China Relations, Manny Pacquiao 'Competes' In The Philippine Presidential Candidate Ring

JAKARTA - Boxing star Manny Pacquiao is set to run for president of the Philippines next year after accepting nominations from his political allies in the general assembly of the faction he leads in the ruling PDP-Laban Party.

Pacquiao, now 42, is disgusted by the corruption in the government and alludes to President Rodrigo Duterte's "comfortable relationship" with China.

"I am a fighter, and I will always be a fighter in and out of the ring," Pacquiao, who is also a senator, said in a speech broadcast live during Sunday's hearing.

"I accept your candidacy as a candidate for president of the Republic of the Philippines," he said.

Pacquiao's candidacy comes days after a rival faction nominated Duterte's aide, Senator Christopher "Bong" Go, as its presidential candidate.

The faction nominated Duterte as vice president, a move critics have called a ploy to maintain power. Go rejected the nomination, but the rift between Pacquiao and Duterte's factions has increased.

Pacquiao's faction has yet to express support for Duterte's candidacy for vice president. Duterte is barred by the constitution from running for a second six-year term as president.

During his 26-year professional career, Pacquiao was recognized as one of the greatest boxers of all time. He became the only man to hold boxing world titles in eight different classes.

Despite his popularity, Pacquiao is still one notch below Duterte's daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio, in opinion polls.

In July, Pacquiao was elected leader of PDP-Laban after challenging Duterte over his stance on China and his track record in fighting corruption.

Pacquiao, who was once a close ally of Duterte, said more than 10 billion pesos (approximately Rp2.8 trillion) in pandemic aid aimed at poor families were not on record, and that it was just one finding in a corruption probe he was planning.

Pacquiao's anti-corruption drive began when the Senate opened an investigation into allegations of overpriced medical supplies and equipment purchased through the government's pandemic emergency response program.

Duterte challenged Pacquiao to name a corrupt government office to prove the boxer wasn't just politics ahead of the election.

Pacquiao retaliated by warning of imprisonment for corrupt government officials. "Your time is up!" he said.