Pacquiao faces disqualification before Comelec

A week after filing his certificate of candidacy (COC) for the Senate, boxing icon and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao is now facing a disqualification case for his alleged "pattern of absenteeism" in Congress.

Ferdinand Sevilla, an independent senatorial aspirant has filed a petition asking the Commission on Election (Comelec) to disqualify Pacquiao and declare him a nuisance candidate for his preoccupation with sports activities.

“That respondent Pacquiao, who has not retired from professional boxing, cannot guarantee he will avoid absenteeism and will conscientiously attend to his mandated task of legislating if elected to the Upper Chamber of Congress,” Sevilla said in his two-page petition.

He claimed that “Pacquiao’s filing of COC for senator in the upcoming national elections, therefore, comprises a sheer and shameless mockery of the election process.”

Sevilla noted that since Pacquiao assumed office in Congress in 2013, he incurred 60 absences out of the 168 session days in Congress.

This got worse, he added when Pacquiao became coach of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) team, Mahindra Enforcers in 2014. That year Pacquiao was only able to attend seven out of 70 session days for 2014.

This has become detrimental to Pacquiao's constituents, Sevilla noted.

“While Pacquiao was consistently absent to train for his boxing bout, shoot his television programs, or shoot hoops in basketball games, he was denying his constituents representation,” Sevilla said.

Pacquiao is running for senator under the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).

As of press time, Comelec has yet to docket Sevilla's petition pending payment of the 10,000 filing fee.