Filipino boxing great Manny Pacquiao. AP FILE PHOTO
MANNY Pacquiao on Tuesday said he was preparing for his new tasks as a neophyte senator, including memorizing the 1987 Constitution, which may end up being revised under the new Duterte administration.
Pacquiao also said he was for the death penalty and wanted death convicts to be hanged.
As for the divorce law, he said it needed study, noting the country already allows the annulment of marriage, which for him is like a divorce.
The world-famous boxer dropped by the Senate media office late Monday during his first visit to the Senate, his new office for the next six years starting July 25 when the 17th Congress opens its session.
Reminded that he had been slammed for not attending sessions in the House of Representatives where he served as representative of Sarangani province for six years, Pacquiao said he was “ready” to attend the sessions regularly.
“We are going to have (chairmanships in) committees so we will be very busy,” he said.
He defended his absences in the House, saying there were occasions he had to go on training for boxing matches.
There were also times, Pacquiao said, that he was just in his office in the House and unable to be physically present on the floor because “my constituents in Congress, the entire Philippines, is in my office.”
Asked whether he would still accept boxing matches despite announcing his retirement, Pacquiao maintained “my mind and heart is to work” in the Senate.
Pacquiao said being religious was important for a leader and for the nation, as success will not come to them “without the guidance of the Lord.”
Asked whether he would invite senators to join him in his Bible studies, he said if they were willing to do so.
Pacquiao said he had been preparing for his Senate tasks, reading in particular the Philippine Constitution.
He recalled that before he rediscovered God, he knew nothing about the Bible but things changed when he started reading it and now he could readily “preach the word of God … share its verses.”
“Same thing with the Constitution. We are reading it and memorizing it,” Pacquiao said. But this could be an unnecessary task as the Duterte administration is keen on revising the 1987 Constitution to pave the way for a shift to a federal form of government.
Malacañang said Mr. Duterte was supporting the convening of a constitutional commission (Con-con) whose delegates are elected to revise the Charter.