Pacquiao: Gay couples 'worse than animals'
Eight- time world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao has sparked a fire storm of criticism after describing gay couples as "worse t han animals."
Nearing t he end of a glorious decades- long boxing career, the 37- year-old is reinventing himself as a conservative Bible- bearing politician ahead of the May elections, when he is running for a Senate seat.
"It's common sense. Do you see animals mating with the same sex? Animals are better because they can distinguish male from female," Pacquiao told TV5 in an interview aired earlier this week.
"If men mate with men and women mate with women they are worse than animals."
Gay marriage is outlawed in the country due to strong opposition from the Catholic Church and 80 percent of the country's 100 million people subscribe to the faith.
Gay marriages are being held in the country but these unions are not recognized by the church or the state.
The country's most popular gay comedian, Vice Ganda, posted #PrayForMannyPacquiao to his 6.7 million followers on Twitter as he tore at the boxer.
"Some people think they can judge people like God just because they've attended a prayer meeting and read the bible," he said.
"The Senate needs experts on politics and law, not blind prophets," Vice Ganda added.
Singer Aiza Seguerra, who recently married her actress-girlfriend, called on voters to boycott Pacquiao, who is also preparing for his last boxing fight in April, calling him an "ignorant, bigoted hypocrite".
"You might have done our country proud but with your statement, you just showed the whole country why we shouldn't vote for you," Seguerra said in a post on Instagram.
Pacquiao gave the television interview as part of his campaign for one of 12 seats in the nationally-elected senate.
In one of the rare times he spoke at the legislature, Pacquiao quoted heavily from the Bible as he vigorously sought to stop a proposed law, since passed, granting free condoms to the poor.
He credits his renewed Christian faith for transforming him from a free- spending womanizer and gambler into a devoted family man who can recite Bible verses.
APOLOGY
Pacquiao on Tuesday took to Facebook to apologize for his recent comments calling people in same-sex relations as "worse than animals."
"I'm sorry for hurting people by comparing homosexuals to animals. Please forgive me for those I've hurt," the boxer-turned-lawmaker said on his Facebook page.
However, he said he still stands on his belief "because of what the Bible says."
"I still stand on my belief that I'm against same sex marriage because of what the Bible says, but I'm not condemning LGBT ( lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transexuals). I love you all with the love of the Lord. God Bless you all and I'm praying for you," he said.
Pacquiao is running for a Senate seat under Vice President Jejomar Binay's United Nationalist Alliance.