MOVER over, Bongbong (Marcos). It?s Manny Pacquiao in 2022.
The news from Grapevine, Texas where he is training for his fight with Mexico?s Antonio Margarito at the Cowboys Stadium on Sunday is that the seven-time world boxing champion (in seven different divisions ? a world record) plans to run for president in 2022.
The Manny Pacquiao Blog. Stories and updates on the Filipino boxing champ.
Lest anything be lost in transmission, let me quote directly from Lance Pugmire?s article in the Los Angeles Times yesterday:
?He says he wants to be his country?s vice president in 2016, and if that happens, a 2022 presidential run is a slam dunk.?
?You do anything too long, as he?s done with boxing, it gets old,? his trainer, Freddie Roach, chimes in. ?He wants to be president one day. The only way to do that is to be a good congressman. When he gets up and goes in there (to Congress), very professionally, proud and proper, he takes it very seriously. I?ve seen it. It?s like having a new girlfriend. All the conversations he?s having with those people now are fresh to him.?
In one of his fights that I watched on TV a couple of years ago, I saw a huge banner that loudly proclaimed ?Pacquiao for President.? Now that he has bared his soul about his presidential dreams, will we be seeing a reprise two days from today?
Anyone can dream. Pacquiao?s advantage, however, is that he has the money to back up his. He has earned millions of dollars and is most likely to earn many millions more from prizes and endorsements. Save only in the unlikely event that he loses his fortunes between now and 2022, Pacquiao will be more than financially equipped to mount a serious presidential campaign.
I nominate Shalani Soledad as his running mate, if and when. Although, she burst into the limelight as the girlfriend of then presidential candidate Noynoy Aquino, she can now claim to be a celebrity in her own right. She co-hosts a TV show and, in this country, don?t show business and politics marry oh so perfectly?
I sat across Shalani when she was interviewed by Sun.Star Cebu in one of her visits here and I was impressed by the aplomb with which she handled even the most personal questions. For example, when she was asked if she and Noy ever quarreled, she said they had issues like any other couple. When pressed for details, she smiled and said, ?pwede ba, sa amin na lang iyan??
Pacquiao-Shalani, wouldn?t that be a tandem with a wallop? His swagger and her poise, his brawn and her face, his poor beginnings and her breeding: could there be a more perfect combination? Without intending any offense to Pacquiao, whom many consider good-looking, is this not a case of a union between the beauty and the beast?
I can imagine the crowds that they will draw especially if Nanay Dionesia (or is it Mommy D now?) will be around to entertain them with her tango. Bongbong, Chiz (Escudero) and any other wannabe would turn green with envy.
See, I have the Pacman?s political career path carefully laid out for him, based on his plans as disclosed to the LA Times. But here?s the rub.
He says that he will run for president in 2022 only if he is elected vice president in 2016. But he?s only 31 now and if my arithmetic is correct, he will only be 37 by then and under the Constitution, a candidate for vice president should be at least 40 years old on election day.
There have been many instances in the past when the country?s presidents violated the Constitution but only after they have been elected and qualified. From the looks of it, Pacquiao does not even know who is qualified to run for vice president or president.
Maybe he should hire another trainer other than Roach.
