Rep. Pacquiao has designs on presidency

Under the constitution of the Philippines, presidential candidates must be at least 40 years old. That means Congressman Manny Pacquiao, who represents the Sarangani province at the southern tip of the archipelago, won't be eligible to run until the 2019 elections. His chief of staff, Jeng Gacal, thinks 2022 is a more realistic target date.

It might sound far-fetched that a desperately poor school dropout could rise to the presidency of his troubled island nation, but then, who would have believed a boxer who began as a 112-pound flyweight would go on to win titles in a record eight weight divisions and become the world-wide face of the sport?

"When I started boxing, people said, 'What you going to do in boxing?' " Pacquiao said recently. "Criticism is always there. Now what can they say?"

Winning election to the House of Representatives in the Philippines, as Pacquiao did last year, is a far cry from running for president. But don't think the idea hasn't crossed his mind.

"To be honest, Manny Pacquiao is sometimes tickled with the idea," Gacal said on a recent train trip from New York to Washington, D.C., where Pacquiao was honored by Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and met with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office. "If he's really destined, I think he will become president."

The trip to Washington was more of an ingenious public relations event to promote Pacquiao's welterweight title fight against Shane Mosley on May 7 in Las Vegas. You know, "Mr. Pacquiao Goes to Washington." It was a photo op, and he managed to mention the fight when he and Sen. Reid appeared together on Capitol Hill.

But "Manny Goes to Manila" is a true story. It's the Filipino version of former pro wrestler Jesse Ventura becoming governor of Minnesota or bodybuilder and actor Arnold Schwarz- enegger becoming governor of California. Pacquiao might have used his celebrity to influence social change in the Philippines similar to the way Muhammad Ali rode the crest of social upheaval in the 1960s and '70s in the United States, but that wasn't enough for him.

SEE PHOTOSTop 10 pound-for-pound boxers

"If you want to really help people, especially in the Philippines, you have to get involved in politics," Pacquiao said. "In the Philippines, there is a lot of corruption. That's what I am trying to stop. It's hard, but I believe I can do it."

Now, Pacquiao is wealthy beyond his wildest dreams, a circumstance that has convinced him nothing is impossible. Yet, his outlook on life is informed by the brutal poverty he knew as a child. That connection to his roots has made him wildly popular not only in the Philippines but throughout the Third World.

"I entered politics because I've been there," Pacquiao said. "I know what they're feeling about being in poverty. I know what they need every day. That's why I want to help them. Some politicians, it's easy to say, 'I want to help them.' But it's not coming from the heart."

Call it naïve if you like, but Pacquiao's mantra is a simple one: "Serve honestly."

SEE PHOTOSMuhammad Ali: A life in photos

The Philippines is a democratic republic, but it has a long history of outrageous corruption, even since the 1986 ouster of president Ferdinand Marcos by the "People Power" movement. It is Pacquiao's long-held belief that the government of the Philippines could raise the standard of living for all its citizens if only the money found its way to the right projects as opposed to the wrong pockets.

Once Pacquiao became a world champion for the first time in 1998, he began meeting members of his country's political and social elite. Gacal, an attorney who also was a city councilman, said Pacquiao expressed interest in running for local office a decade ago. It wasn't until 2007 that he suddenly jumped into the congressional election with barely three months to campaign and was soundly defeated, even though he was aligned with the party of then-incumbent president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

"I was against it," Gacal said. "We learned our lesson."

Despite his popularity, Pacquiao's lack of formal education weighed heavily against him. There was a perception he was unqualified for Congress. Some even voted against him because they were afraid it might mean the end of a boxing career that brings honor to the Philippines.

But once bitten with the political bug, Pacquiao was serious about running again. "Right after the elections, we started to form our own political party and get our own recruits for the next elections," Gacal said. "It's a local political party, The Peoples' Champ Movement. Of course, he's the chairman. After three years, we were more than ready."

The second time around, Pacquiao won in a landslide, having learned the importance of campaigning. "Even if your mission is sincere, if it can't get attention, it is useless," Pacquiao said.

Since his election, Pacquiao has received training in public administration, and he has developed his political priorities. He has campaigned in favor of legislation to outlaw human trafficking and the recruiters who lure mostly young women into the sex trade with promises of an escape from poverty. Pacquiao also has established a program with more than 1,000 scholarships to help children with higher education costs, starting with high school.

But his first major achievement was winning funding to build the first general hospital in Sarangani province.

"The population is more than half a million, and it's a big area and we don't have a hospital," Pacquiao said. "How come? We need to build a provincial hospital, and we're going to start by April."

Before leaving for the United States for his last fight against Antonio Margarito in November, Pacquiao met with new Philippines president Benigno Aquino III to secure his support for the project. Some in Pacquiao's camp, including trainer Freddie Roach, expressed concern that politics was becoming too much of a distraction. But Pacquiao carved up Margarito to win the vacant WBC light middleweight title, even though, at 144 1/2 pounds, he was almost 10 pounds below the 154-pound limit.

"I was not distracted,'' Pacquiao said. "My mind and my heart were focused on that fight, and I proved that. They're distracted, not me.''

Now, some are starting to wonder how much longer Pacquiao will fight. He has been unable to lure Floyd Mayweather Jr. into the ring to settle the question of who really is the best pound-for-pound fighter of this generation. Mayweather faces legal problems that pose yet another hurdle to the making of that fight, but even if Mayweather remains unavailable, Pacquiao said he has no plans to retire anytime soon.

"I'm enjoying it right now," Pacquiao said of his boxing career. "I still can fight, and I'm excited to train hard. If the time comes where I'm not excited anymore, maybe I would think about retirement."

As it happens, Congress in the Philippines takes a recess in April, which allows Pacquiao ample time to train for Mosley. Then, it will be back to the political wars and a chance to see that hospital take shape.

Is a run for the presidency in Pacquiao's future? He's smart enough to table that discussion for the moment. "I don't have that in my mind right now," Pacquiao said. "What is in my mind is to accomplish what I want - being a congressman, to accomplish my promises to them during my campaign. I don't want them to call me a liar. Right now, this is my first year in politics. I'm doing good."