- The People’s champ Manny Pacquiao downplays disqualification case against him
- The 8-division world boxing champion says he is not violating any election rule by fighting Timothy Bradley, Jr. on April 9
- This not the first time Pacquiao is fighting while running for an electoral post
- Pacquiao says the fight is not just for him but for the glory of all Filipinos
GENERAL SANTOS CITY – World boxing legend Manny Pacquiao dismissed the disqualification case filed against him; saying he believes that he is not violating any elections rules by fighting the last fight of his boxing career.
In a story published by Rappler, fellow senatorial candidate Walden Bello filed with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) a petition accusing Pacquiao of getting undue advantage against other candidates for the substantial airtime and promotion he will get for the fight. Bello is asking Pacquiao to move the date of bout until after the elections or face possible disqualification.]
“Manny is a great boxer, and I am a fan, but now that he is also a senatorial candidate, he needs to understand that election laws must apply to everyone. He should either postpone the fight, or risk being disqualified from the senatorial elections,” the former representative said.
Pacquiao is set to fight Bradley for the third time at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on April 9, and is now training in General Santos City.
“As a boxer and world class athlete, I’m sure Manny understands the concept of sportsmanship and fair play. As a senatorial candidate, he should abide by the same rules as everyone else. No one should have an undue advantage in terms of media coverage. No one should be above the law. He must reschedule this fight to after 9 May 2016,” Bello added.
Under the Fair Elections Act, candidates contending for national positions are allowed 120 minutes of TV advertisements and 180 minutes of radio advertisements. Bello says the exposure Pacquiao will get for his boxing match will far exceed this limit.
Bello also pointed out that the law requires any candidate who are either a “mass media columnist, commentator, announcer, reporter, on-air correspondent or personality” to resign or take a leave of absence from their work during the campaign period.
However, according to an article on InterAksyon, the Sarangani Representative believes that he is not violating any election rules.
“Hindi lang naman ito ‘yung unang laban ko na tumakbo ako eleksyon, may mga nakalipas na mga eleksyon lumaban din ako,” Pacquiao said. “Ito namang fight is para sa karangalan nating lahat, tayo rin naman ang makinabang,” Pacquiao explained.
In 2007, Pacquiao ran for the first time as congressman of the first district of South Cotabato and fought Jorge Solis just a month before the elections. He knocked Solis out but lost his congressional bid.
While in 2010, the 8-division world champion defeated Joshua Clottey in March of the same year he finally won as Sarangani congressman.
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