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Pacquiao proclaims his party's candidates in Sarangani

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abs-cbnNEWS.com | 11/22/2009 7:52 PM

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MANILA - Filipino boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao on Sunday led the oath taking and proclamation of candidates in Sarangani province of local party People’s Champ Movement (PCM) for the 2010 local elections.

Pacquiao, who is PCM chairman, led the oath-taking and proclamation in Alabel town of the local party’s line-up for the 7 towns of the province. He was accompanied by wife, Jinkee.

Two of PCM’s candidates were incumbent mayors who were from the Sarangani Reconciliation and Reformation Organization (Sarro) Party, another local party which is affiliated with the administration party Lakas-Kampi-CMD.

PCM’s theme for the 2010 elections apparently took their inspiration from the successful US presidential campaign of Barack Obama – Change!

After the proclamation of candidates, PCM immediately launched a caravan to go around Sarangani province.

Confident of PCM win

PCM’s candidates and supporters said they consider Pacquaio as their hope for uplifting the impoverished state of the province.

“Kaya ni Manny umasenso ang Sarangani,” said Mayor Bong Constantino of Malungon town, who is also PCM executive vice chairman.

Pacquiao said he was confident that the PCM candidates will win.

“I believe we will win this big fight,” said the holder of 7 championship belts in the boxing world.

Pacquiao would reportedly file his certificate of candidacy for the congressional seat of Sarangani province on Wednesday.

Pacquiao would be facing Roy Chiongbian, a top executive of Eastern Shipping Lines, who has been chosen by the Chiongbian family as their official candidate in the May 2010 polls.

The businessman is the youngest brother of incumbent Sarangani Rep. Erwin Chiongbian. Their mother, Priscilla Chiongbian, is a former provincial governor.

The Chiongbian family earlier said that they do not think Pacquiao's popularity in boxing would be enough to bring him to victory in 2010. Pacquiao lost to Darlene Antonino-Custodio for the congressional seat of General Santos City in the 2007 polls.

The Sarro party was founded by the late Sarangani Rep. James L. Chiongbian and former governor Priscilla L. Chiongbian.

Still courting Pacman

Meanwhile, Philippine political heavyweights were still courting Pacquiao to win his endorsement for the May 2010 presidential elections in an effort to cash in on his soaring popularity.

Pacquiao said he would soon announce which candidate he is backing, but denied reports he was already aligned with Sen. Manuel “Manny” Villar, one of the front-runners in the presidential race.

"I will announce later what is my (national) party and who is the presidential candidate I am aligning with," he told reporters during the PCM gathering.

He admitted meeting with Villar in Manila on Friday, but denied that he had already joined forces with his Nacionalista Party (NP).

"I did not give any commitment," he said.

Manila dailies gave front-page coverage to reports that Villar was offering to make Pacquiao the official NP candidate for Congress in the southern province of Sarangani.

This is despite a long-time alliance between Pacquiao and President Gloria Arroyo, who has endorsed another candidate, ex-defense chief Gilberto Teodoro, as her presidential bet.

In Manila, Arroyo spokesman Cerge Remonde downplayed the speculation, saying "that is between Manny Villar and Manny Pacquiao. We will not interfere in that and we will not complain if this (alliance) happens."

Villar, a billionaire property developer, placed second in recent surveys of contenders for the presidential elections.

A senior Lakas-Kampi CM official, meanwhile, advised that Pacquiao should run under the party-list system.

“Manny is a world sports icon and our own living legend and crown jewel. He will not do justice to himself nor the Filipino people to be affiliated with a political party because he will alienate himself politically from other who do not belong to that party. Manny belongs to all Filipinos, so it might be wiser for him to be above partisan identities. If he must run for a congressional seat in the coming polls, it might be better for Manny to run under the party list system where he can represent a broader national constituency,” said Gabriel Claudio of Lakas-Kampi CMD in a text message.

Claudio said the administration party would not compete with NP for Pacquiao.

One of Pacquiao's political allies, Juan Domingo, said however that there was an offer by President Arroyo's Lakas-Kampi-CMD party for Pacquiao to join.

However Lakas-Kampi-CMD has already endorsed Roy Chiongbian as its candidate for the Sarangani seat, said Domingo.

Soaring popularity

Pacquiao, whose boxing victories have made him a national hero, has already said he plans to run for the Congress seat in Sarangani.

His popularity soared even further after he demolished Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto last week to become the only man in history to win seven titles in as many weight classes.

The victory over Cotto, however, won him even more fame, with Arroyo conferring on him on Friday the ceremonial "Sikatuna Award"-- an honor normally reserved for foreign heads of state. From a report of Anne Santos, ABS-CBN General Santos With a report from Agence France-Presse