World renowned boxer Manny Pacquiao, who is also a senator for the Philippines government, is now taking on a new challenge by running for president in the Philippines, with election day being May 9, 2022.

     “I am a fighter, and I will always be a fighter inside and outside the ring,” Manny said in one of his first convention speeches held Sept. 19, 2021. “We need the government to serve our people with integrity, compassion and transparency.”

     Pacquiao is not  new to the political scene in the Philippines; he has had a few years of experience being at a high level position. In 2015 Pacquiao announced that he would be running for Senator and had aligned himself with the United Nationalist Alliance, which, at the time, was  Vice President of the Philippines Jejomar Binay. On May 19, 2016, Pacquiao was officially elected as a senator. He had “garnered 16 million votes and was the seventh elected out of the 12 electees,” reported the Associated Press.

     “My priority is to resolve the pandemic so we can drive the economy to recovery,” Pacquiao said in an interview with CNBC reporters. “The voices of the poor have not been heard,” he later said to further give a reason for his running.

     With the official election starting on the second Monday of May, 2022, there is a lot of time for Pacquiao to run through his campaign and continue to garner support for his presidential career. At this time, it is still early in the boxer’s presidential campaign, but based on his popularity as a senator, he will have a massive amount of support no matter what.