Pac-Man 2022? Manny Pacquiao May Plot a Philippine Presidential Run

Manny Pacquiao does not lose often. The boxing star and Philippine senator was already one of the country’s most popular figures when, last year, he became chair of the ruling PDP-Laban party.

But his ambitions to become the next Philippine president are facing resistance from supporters of another popular Filipino: President Rodrigo Duterte, his erstwhile political ally.

Pacquiao emerged as a staunch supporter of Duterte after his shocking election victory in 2016, and the boxer’s vast popularity and personal wealth make him a natural candidate to succeed a term-limited Duterte in 2022.

Duterte and his political allies, however, appear to be setting the stage for a run by his daughter, Davao Mayor Sara Duterte, and many in the Duterte camp want the 76-year-old incumbent to return as vice president on a Duterte-Duterte ticket.

The Dutertes have pulled off this arrangement before: In 2010, when Rodrigo Duterte was term-limited during his own time as mayor of Davao, he handed the reins to his daughter and continued as vice mayor.

Sara Duterte has said she will not seek the presidency, and her father was slammed in January for saying the nation’s highest office is not for women. This has not dented Sara’s support within the party and among voters, who remember how Duterte played coy ahead of his own 2016 run and do not exactly believe Sara’s denials.

Pacquiao, however, appears to have his own plans. Last month, he urged party members to boycott a meeting called by Duterte loyalists to formally urge the president to run for vice president in 2022, sparking tensions between the Duterte and Pacquiao camps.

Then, earlier this month, the brewing feud erupted when Duterte blasted Pacquiao’s “shallow” foreign policy knowledge in an interview, saying the senator “should study first” before commenting on the territorial feud with Beijing in the South China Sea. Pacquiao defended himself the next day, saying his stance “reflects the sentiment of [the] majority of Filipinos.”

Pacquiao had been critical of Duterte’s policies in the South China Sea, which many Filipinos see as overly deferential to China. By staking out ground on the issue, Pacquiao is directly targeting one of the president’s few political vulnerabilities – a likely preview of what might happen if both Pacquiao and Sara Duterte enter the 2022 presidential race.

Pacquiao said he had previously requested a meeting with Duterte to discuss rifts within the party, but the president never responded.

Duterte himself has not chosen his preferred presidential successor. His spokesperson said earlier this month the president is deciding between his daughter, Pacquiao, and three other potential candidates.

While key PDP-Laban figures such as Senator Koko Pimental are pressuring Pacquiao to make a decision, Duterte allies are trying to knock him out of the race.

Pacquiao says he will boycott a key party meeting at which allies of Duterte are expected to reaffirm their support for a Duterte-Duterte ticket. The July meeting is being called by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, who leads a pro-Duterte faction within the party. That same faction is behind ongoing efforts to oust Pacquiao as party president.

Duterte has publicly kept his distance from the Cusi faction, even though all signs point to him playing a key role in it. His daughter, meanwhile, still insists she has no plans to run for president. Pacquiao himself says he hasn’t decided on running, as any such decision must come from God.

The new president will face a stagnant economy, high unemployment, hunger sparked by soaring food prices, and a deadly pandemic worsened by low vaccination rates. Filipinos are surely eager to find out who is actually planning on running.