Rep. Manny Pacquiao?s flair for the dramatics could not have come at the most appropriate time.
He has been out of popular conversation the past few months after his disastrous 2012 showing forced him to boxing inactivity.
It did not help that he was unopposed in his re-election bid where only the hardest core of fans and beat reporters followed his campaign trail.
He finally gets to climb the ring on November 23 (November 24 Philippine time) against Brandon Rios, a former lightweight champion who is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Mike Alvarado. But even his comeback fight failed to approximate the media attention he was getting whenever he launches promotional tours of his fights.
Then he caught everyone?s attention when he sheepishly admitted that he is considering a presidential run in the future.
The future could not be in 2016, the next scheduled presidential election. He will only be 37 by then and the Philippine Constitution mandates that a presidential candidate must be 40 years old on the day of the election.
So that leaves 2022 as the first window of opportunity for Pacquiao?s presidential ambition.
Who are the possible contenders for the 2022 elections that Pacquiao will face in the likely event that he decides to run?
Looking at the horizon, the likely 2016 ?presidentiables? are vice President Jejomar Binay, DILG secretary Mar Roxas, senators Bong Revilla and Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Peter Allan Cayetano
Jejomar Binay is locked to get Senator Jinggoy Estrada as his Vice President for 2016 while the presidential palace is reportedly trying to shape up a Roxas-Chiz Escudero tandem.
Revilla and Marcos could end up teaming with each other or with Cayetano. Neophyte senator Nancy Binay could be a long shot if his father wins the presidency in 2016.
Anybody elected vice president in 2016 will definitely be a strong contender for the top executive post in the land.
The forerunners for the 2022 presidential race, based on the trajectory of their political careers should be Escudero, Estrada, Marcos and Cayetano, barring any political shooting star emerging between now and 2022. A possible presidential contender could also emerge in 2016 Senate race.
Estrada will no longer be eligible to run for Senate in 2016, leaving him with no other option but to gun for the vice presidency. A victory as vice president in 2012 will prime him up in the 2022 elections.
Escudero will be in the middle of his 2nd Senate term and may agree to be the running mate of Roxas in 2016. He will keep his senate post even if he losses in the election and bide his time for the 2022 presidential race.
Marcos can either run for Senate re-election or agree to become vice president of Revilla in 2016. A loss in the vice presidential race, however, will keep him out of the political limelight, which will be disastrous for his likely presidential bid in 2022.
Cayetano will at least be 3 years remove from his Senate post and a likely run for the presidency in 2022 will be an uphill climb for him unless he can keep himself in the conversation by sliding to his old post as member of the House of Representative representing Taguig-Pateros.
It is still a good 9 years and political fortunes or misfortunes for anybody who has set his eyes for 2022. A single misstep could make or unmake a president.
So where do these scenarios leave Pacquiao?
Pacquiao can opt to again run for re-election as congressman of Sarangani in 2016. Or follow the advice of Speaker Feliciano Belmonte: win a seat in the Philippine Senate in 2016 from where he can launch his presidential bid.
By then, he would have been retired from boxing and he will have to keep himself in the presidential radar by making good account of himself as a legislator.
But as in the case of former President, a prolific lawmaker or an outstanding senator does not necessarily make a president.
Estrada himself was a popular actor and a celebrity in his own right when he joined politics. First, as a mayor of San Juan in Metro Manila, then senator before getting elected vice president in 1992. He handily won the presidency in 1998 but was ousted from office by a popular revolt less than three years later.
Pacquiao is a popular boxing icon and has already etched his name in the popular consciousness of Filipino voters. He has amassed enough wealth to ensure he will never live in penury in his lifetime.
His imminent and unavoidable retirement from boxing, however, could severely hamper his presidential ambition. For all the winnings as a professional boxer he has amassed, Pacquiao still needs to find allies ? rich allies ? who will help bankroll his candidacy in 2022.
While one is not born into it, it is the circumstances of the times that propel one into the coveted office. The presidency, like it or not, is a matter of destiny.
Pacquiao is known for his dogged determination to reach his ambition. The presidency is one that may be improbable but not entirely impossible for him.
After all, this is politics ? Philippine style.
