: Manny Pacquiao Is Campaigning to Be President of the Philippines With Rodrigo Duterte’s Playbook. Will Voters Trust Him? #WorldNEWS Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao has mastered the art of fighting.

Manny Pacquiao Is Campaigning to Be President of the Philippines With Rodrigo Duterte’s Playbook. Will Voters Trust Him? #WorldNEWS
Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao has mastered the art of fighting. At 42, he has 12 world boxing titles across eight weight divisions. Out of the 72 bouts in his career, he’s won 62.
But his latest fight is going to require an entirely different set of skills. Pacquiao is taking on former ally Rodrigo Duterte to run for president of the Philippines in May 2022.
Hes leaning on his rags-to-riches backstory and nearly universal name recognition in the Southeast Asian nation of 109 million. But hes also picked up some of Dutertes own populist moves, waging a campaign that is long on blistering attacks, bold accusations of corruption and sweeping promises to fix problems—and short on details.
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I am a fighter, and I will always be a fighter—inside and outside the ring,” Pacquiao, who was elected to the Philippine senate in 2016, said when he announced his presidential bid on Sunday. “To those serving our government, who continue to exploit and steal from government coffers, you’ll soon be rounded up in prison. Your time is up. ”
Read more: 10 Questions for Manny Pacquiao
His legislative agenda as senator has been largely shaped by his conservative Christian upbringing, but Its unclear exactly how Pacquiao would run the Philippines as president. His lack of policy direction leaves Filipinos without a blueprint for the country’s next six years. However, his history of defending Duterte’s bloody drug war shows that he is not necessarily opposed to the outgoing presidents approach.
So far his most notable split from Duterte is on China: Pacquiao called the president out for his softer stance on China’s encroachments on territory claimed by the Philippines in the South China Sea. But some observers are unsure whether this is just theatrics, or whether Pacquiao really plans to get tough on China—his countrys largest trading partner.
Pacquiaos uphill battle for the Philippine presidency

John Gurzinski—AFP/Getty ImagesFloyd Mayweather Jr. exchanges punches with Manny Pacquiao during their welterweight unification championship bout on May 2, 2015 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Philippine presidential election is still months away, but so far Pacquiao looks more like an undercard fighter than a main bout contender.
Duterte is limited to one term by the Philippine constitution, but he has already been nominated to run for vice president by the Philippine Democratic Party–Peoples Power party (PDP–Laban)—the party that both he and Pacquiao belong to. Many observers believe Duterte will use the post of vice president to remain the countrys de-facto leader.