By the time Manny Pacquiao leaves office — assuming he runs for the highest office in the land and eventually becomes president — there’s only one thing he says he would love to be remembered for.
“Gusto kong makita ang lahat ng kawatan sa gobyerno sa kulungan, lahat ng nagnanakaw (I want to see all corrupt gov’t officials in jail),” Pacquiao said late Saturday night at his Forbes Park home.
Pacquiao, who returns to the ring against undefeated American knockout king Errol Spence on 21 August in Las Vegas, insists he feels the pulse of the poor, as for many years, he was one of them, often hungry and unsure when and where the next meal would be.
Just like the underprivileged, Pacquiao swears he is longing for the day when even the rich and the influential who are found guilty of crimes are sent to jail.
“Gusto kong pumalakpak ang mga mahihirap na tao. That’s the only thing na maiiwan ko sa ibabaw ng mundo (I want to give the poor something to cheer about. That’s the only legacy I could leave to them),” said the eight-division boxing champion. “That’s my dream. This is not just talk.”
Pacquiao is among a handful of politicians said to be jockeying for position in next year’s national elections.
Although he has yet to formally declare his intention to run, Pacquiao’s bold remarks lately could be proof that he is gunning for the presidency, according to political insiders.
Currently embroiled in a leadership squabble in the PDP-Laban ruling party, Pacquiao is one of five being eyed to carry the administration’s fight during the May 2021 elections.
Malacañang is eyeing the President’s daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, former vice-presidential candidate and ex-senator Bongbong Marcos and Sen. Bong Go.
However, despite his being the acting president of the party, Pacquiao is often labeled as an outsider as party-mates have continually ignored his calls for unity.
Still, Pacquiao believes that apart from his plan to combat corruption, one of his immediate concerns if he gets elected is to revive the economy.
“If you have economic growth, you have employment,” he said.
Throwing his hat?
Then again, Pacquiao maintains he is not officially throwing his hat into the presidential race.
“If mag-decide ako (to run for president), these are the things that I will prioritize.”
In the meantime, Pacquiao is also immersed in his preparations for the Spence fight that takes place in Las Vegas in 10 weeks or so.
Pacquiao, who has been inactive since July 2019, has actually kicked off training camp for the Spence showdown a few days ago.
With the Senate on recess, Pacquiao will have the chance to focus on his buildup in the coming weeks.
Pacquiao is the heavy underdog against the 31-year-old Spence, who is more than ten years younger.
While acknowledging that Spence has the physical advantages, Pacquiao believes he has the intangibles.
“I still have the desire to fight and win, and the speed,” Pacquiao said.
No partisan politics
While the political merry-go-round is starting to heat up four months before the official filing of candidacies in October, Duterte-Carpio and former Defense Secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. will not engage in partisan politics in campaigning for the presidential and vice-presidential posts, a political ally revealed.
In a recent interview with the Daily Tribune, former Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya said partisanship will be “avoided” to assure that the credibility of the two “will shine without any baggage from belonging to a party.”
The Sara-Gibo tandem will employ a “different kind of campaign,” one that does not need a political party’s machinery to “carry them,” he reiterated.
Political parties, nevertheless, are welcome to support them, the former lawmaker noted.
“They will make themselves the vehicle for ‘change.’ If the political parties want to take part in that ‘change,’ they are welcome to ride with them but it’s not going to be the other way around,” Andaya told Daily Tribune.
“If you want to help, you can… but we don’t owe you a debt of gratitude,” he added, addressing the groups who intend to support the tandem.
Electoral campaigns must not be based on “debates, conventions and even tarpaulins,” Andaya said, but in making “strong statements” like promoting Covid-19 (coronavirus disease) vaccination.
“It’s just simple… putting your heart in your head to prevent a disaster, which is another wave of Covid-19,” he said.
Duterte-Carpio and Teodoro met each other personally for the first time on 3 June to “forge” their partnership “deal” for the next polls, according to Andaya, who is a longtime friend of Teodoro. In their meeting, Andaya recalled that “money” for the campaign has not been discussed by the two and that both agreed not to let political parties “control them when they get into power.”
Money secondary
“We have a decent platform and agenda; money will be secondary. Money will just arrive. They (Duterte-Carpio and Teodoro) just want clean and honest elections and ensure that the best candidates will come out victorious,” Andaya shared.
Although the incumbent President’s daughter has yet to make a formal announcement about her plans for the 2022 elections, Andaya has been consistently declaring to the public that she has “already decided to run” and such piece of information was “firsthand information.”
“We went there (to Davao City) to firm up the tandem of the two. That’s a done deal two weeks ago,” Andaya underscored, adding that Duterte-Carpio already made the decision two weeks prior to the meeting.
It is a fact that Duterte-Carpio is running, he claimed, but urged the public to give “her space and time” to announce it herself. Teodoro, likewise, has not made the announcement yet.
It was in 2010 when he first ran for president as the administration’s bet but lost to then-Senator Noynoy Aquino, who is his second cousin.
Teodoro is from Isabela and the only son of Gilberto Teodoro Sr., who is a former administrator of the Social Security System, and former Tarlac Rep. Mercedes Cojuangco-Teodoro.
