MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Manny Pacquiao, the PROMDI presidential candidate, reasserted on Sunday his anti-corruption stance and his plan to construct a mega-prison for corrupt officials if he gets elected this May.
“First month, second month, third months of my service, I was already preparing the plan for constructing a mega-prison,” the retired boxing champion said in Filipino during the “Presidential Debate” organized by CNN Philippines.
“I want to see the thieves in government in prison,” he said.
Pacquiao also wants to pass a law denying pardon for anyone found guilty of plunder.
“If the case is plunder, let’s pass a law that there will be no pardon so that imprisonment will be for life,” he said.
Pacquiao, whose rags to riches story endeared him to fans worldwide, has always blamed “systemic corruption” for the country’s economic problems.
He said politics had become a source of livelihood in the Philippines, with greed and corruption staining the country’s reputation in the international community.
RELATED STORY
Pacquiao vows to personally haul corrupt officials to jail if elected
Pacquiao aims to rid 70% of gov’t corruption in 2-3 years if elected president