Boxer Manny Pacquiao to run for Philippines president

Philippine boxing star Manny Pacquiao on Sunday announced he will run for president in the 2022 election. He was nominated as a candidate by a rival faction in President Rodrigo Duterte’s ruling party.

The 42-year-old’s rise from poverty to the peak of world boxing has won him many fans. He has served as a senator and has vowed to tackle poverty and corruption. But his support of Duterte’s controversial war on drugs has drawn ample criticism.

Duterte is barred from another term but has been selected to run for vice-president, a move critics see as an attempt to cling to power.