Sarangani Representative Manny Pacquiao. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Boxing icon and Sarangani Rep. Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao would not qualify to run in the next presidential elections, a Commission on Elections official said Tuesday.
James Jimenez, the Commission on Elections spokesperson, noted that Pacquiao will only be 37 years old in 2016, three years short of the constitutional requirement that presidential candidates should be at least 40 years old.
“He won’t meet the age requirement. He will be under 40 years of age,” Jimenez said.
Pacquiao was recently quoted by the Agence France-Presse that he was considering running for the presidency once he retires from boxing.
However, the lawmaker on Tuesday issued a statement, clarifying he had no “concrete plans” for Malacañang and that becoming the country’s president was just “an aspiration.”
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