Senator Manny Pacquiao shows the media his certificate of candidacy or COC form at the Harbor Garden Tent of Sofitel hotel in Pasay City on Friday, October 1, 2021. Pacquiao makes his bid for president in the 2022 elections official with the filing of his COC. INQUIRER.net/John Eric Mendoza
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Manny Pacquiao on Friday filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) to join the presidential race in 2022.
He arrived around 9 a.m. at the Harbor Garden Tent of Sofitel hotel in Pasay City, where the COC filing would be held from October 1-8 according to the Commission on Elections.
He was accompanied by his wife Jinkee.
Pacquiao’s running mate, former Manila City mayor and Buhay Partylist Rep. Lito Atienza, also filed his COC for vice president on Friday.
The two arrived together at the COC filing venue and lodged their candidacies under the Probinsiya Muna Development Initiative or Promdi, which is one of the political organizations under the MP3 alliance.
READ: Atienza is Pacquiao’s VP for 2022
The MP3 alliance consisted of PDP-Laban, Promdi, and the People’s Champ Movement.
READ: 2 local parties form alliance with Pacquiao’s PDP-Laban wing
But Pacquiao, who announced his retirement from boxing Wednesday, was declared the standard-bearer of the PDP-Laban faction that he was leading with Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III during a national assembly conducted on September 19.
The world-renowned boxer’s first crack at politics was when he won as a congressman of the lone district of Sarangani province in 2010. By 2016, he was already a senator.
READ: Manny Pacquiao officially retires: ‘My time as a boxer is over’
In the latest Pulse Asia survey, Pacquiao was ranked fourth garnering 12 percent of respondents’ approval from among a list of six purported presidential aspirants.
READ: Pulse Asia: Sara Duterte top pick for president, Sotto leads VP polls
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