Pacquiao denies talking about presidential run

SEN. Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao on Monday denied to have confided to Top Rank Boxing promoter Bob Arum regarding his supposed plans to run for president of the Philippines in the upcoming 2022 elections.

“As far as I know, we never talked about politics. The last time we talked on Zoom, Bob discussed possible fight schedules, but never about politics. Our discussion was all about boxing,” said the eight-division world boxing champion.

“Hindi pan ah onng pol itika n gay on. S adam ing problem a ng bans a,ang kai lang anna ti nay pa gk aka is aatp ag tutu lung an para maibsanangp ag hi hi rapn gating mgakababayan (This is not the time for politics. The country has so much problems, what we need is unity and cooperation in order to mitigate the difficulties of our countrymen),” Pacquiao stressed.

“Kai lang anna tin pa gk aka is a.

Let’s unite para matu lung anang mg aka ba bay anna tin. An gd a ming w alan gt rab a hong ayonl alon aang atingmga OFWs. Kailanganpong a ting ban san ga yo nay hindi pol itika( We need to unite. Let’s unite so we can help our countrymen. Many have lost their jobs, especially overseas Filipino workers. Politics is not what we need now),” the senator emphasized.

Pacquiao issued the statement after Arum was reported to have claimed that the senator discussed his plan to run for president in 2022. “I did a Zoom telephone call with him and he said, ‘Bob, I’m gonna run in 2022. And when I win, I want you there at my inauguration.’”

Pacquiao went on record a year ago to say he does not plan to run for president in 2022. Instead, he declared that he wants to form his own political party.