Profile of Guest of Honor and Speaker: Hon. Emmanuel “Manny” D. Pacquiao

The People's Champion, the only eight-division world champion in the history of boxing, is set to enter the ring of the highest office in the land as he attempts to win the championship belt of the presidency of the nation. Let the Fighting Senator from Sarangani show Asia's First Rotary Club the kind of stamina he needs to capture the mandate of the Filipino people.

Born dirt poor in the sordid hinterlands of Mindanao, in the municipality of Kibawe, Bukidnon on December 17, 1978 our speaker today had experienced growing up in extreme living conditions, among the most marginalized members of our society. The 4th of 6 siblings, his parents Rosalio and Dionisia separated when Manny was very young due to his father’s alleged infidelity. At the tender age of 7, Manny started to work in order to help their mother. Manny and his siblings were then raised by their mother, in the mountains of Glan, Sarangani, with mostly bananas and root crops to get by their day. The family eventually moved to General Santos City to seek better opportunities.

For the young Manny, the most challenging times were when his younger brothers would cry from extreme hunger, and he would recall that their mother would ask them to just drink water, for the hunger would soon go away. Despite these dire circumstances, Manny’s mother always told them to be resourceful and work diligently for their needs. They were always taught to uphold their dignity by never having to beg for anything, and if possible, earn their way through life.

Manny was introduced to boxing by his uncle, Sardo Mejia when he was 12 years old. His first taste of earning the prize money of Php50.00 up to Php100.00 in a fiesta boxing contest gave him a glimpse of hope, and a chance to pursue economic salvation with his new found sport and passion. After 6 months of training in a makeshift gym, Manny started boxing regularly at the public park in General Santos City. Manny travelled to nearby cities and fought higher-ranked opponents. By age 14 Manny went to Manila to pursue more opportunities in boxing, while working odd jobs as a construction worker and selling Sampaguita flowers and other goods to make ends meet. Remarkably, no matter how little he earned, he would send more than half of his income back home to help his family.

When Manny reached 15 years of age, he was considered as one of the best junior boxers from the south, and in January of 1995, Manny would debut as a junior flyweight professional boxer at the age of 16. Eventually, Manny won the World Boxing Council (WBC) flyweight title at the age of 19 in December of 1990, his first major title. For then under dog, under aged and under weighed challenger, the fairytale of his boxing career is forever etched in the annals of sports history.

Manny is a holder of six Guinness book world records for his boxing feats. He is the only eight-division world champion in the history of boxing, and has won twelve major world titles. He was the first boxer to win the lineal championship in five different weight classes, the first boxer to win major world titles in four of the eight "glamour divisions": flyweight, featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight, and is the only boxer to hold world championships across four decades (1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s). In 2019 Manny also became the oldest welterweight world champion in history at the age of 40, and the first boxer in history to become a recognized four-time welterweight champion, after defeating Keith Thurman to win the WBA super welterweight title.

In narrating his experience with poverty, as he addressed the Oxford Union Society, Manny underlined, that no matter how destitute they were, his mind and spirit were never hungry. He would read everything he could get his hands on, from labels, signs, and even the newspaper where his food was wrapped in. Manny pursued learning about weights and measurements on the scales at the docks where he used to work as a laborer. At night when it was too cold, Manny would read the carton boxes where they laid on. Manny simply ignored the odds that stood against him and continuously sharpened his resolve, by merely looking forward to the simple pleasures of a warm morning, and the comforts that nature provided. This was his lesson about determination.

Manny had to stop formal schooling in grade school in 1995, but this was only a temporary obstacle as he persevered to achieve his high school equivalency in 2007. Eventually, Manny graduated with a BS Management and BS Political Science degree and pursued other educational endeavors between the years 2010 to 2019. Manny is continuously studying as he is currently taking his Master’s degree and juggles his spare time pursuing other interests in music and other sports like chess, billiards and basketball to keep his mind and body always in top shape. Most importantly, Manny sets aside time to read and study the bible and shares this knowledge with family and friends.

Manny has an indissoluble affinity with our less fortunate people. Long before joining government, Manny had established housing, education and livelihood programs for the poor in Sarangani and the neighboring provinces. In fact, Manny would set aside about half of his earnings to purchase land and build complete communities for his projects for the poor. To make this sustainable beyond boxing, Manny established the Manny Pacquiao Foundation based in the United States and its local counterpart, the Manny and Jinkee Heart Foundation. The desire to help more people and uplift the dignity of the poorer members of society has led Manny to the portals of public service.

Manny did not have it easy in politics. In 2007 Manny lost his first bid to then incumbent Rep. Darlene Antonino for the 1st District of South Cotabato. It took Manny a second shot to be elected as Sarangani Representative in May 2010, besting the 30 year reign of the Chiongbian political brand in that province via landslide, and officially joining the 15th Congress in the House of Representatives. In 2013 Manny was re-elected as the unopposed Representative into the 16th Congress.

Manny subsequently declared that he was running for senator under the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) party of then vice-president Jejomar Binay. On May 19, 2016, Manny was elected senator and garnered over 16 million votes, landing 7th among 12 new members of the Senate. As a senator from Mindanao, he aligned himself with the Duterte administration and during the 18th Congress 20 legislative proposals lapsed into law. Manny authored and co-authored laws that include Excise Tax on Alcohol Products, Philippine High School for Sports, Comprehensive Values Education Act, Alternative Learning System Act, Organic Agriculture Act, Coconut Farmers and Industry Fund, Malasakit Center Act, Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, Doctor Para sa Bayan Act, National Cooperative Month Act, and the COVID-19 Vaccination Program Act of 2019. As early as 2018 and during the 17th Congress, Manny had passed a total of 33 laws, 17 of which were of local application. A list of these acts are provided below for further reference.

During the outbreak of the COVID 19 pandemic in 2020, Alibaba Group co-founder Jack Ma and Manny worked together to bring to the Philippines 50,000 COVID 19 test kits, through their respective charity foundations. Manny announced his presidential bid on September 19, 2021, during the National Assembly of the PDP-Laban. On October 1, he formally registered his candidacy under the Cebu-based party PROMDI. This was in accordance with the "MP3 Alliance" established by PDP Laban under Pacquiao's faction with PROMDI, and the People's Champ Movement political party.

Manny continues to serve the people, you will see him on the ground during calamities like the 2013 Yolanda typhoon, in the Most Affected Area (MAA) after the Marawi devastation and even during the current COVID 19 pandemic, Manny will always be at the forefront of public service, brushing aside the odds and looking for the silver lining. An action man and leader with the purest intentions at heart, an inspiration and beacon of hope for the majority of our people who, like him, desire only to exercise their right to pursue happiness.

A proud Charter President of the Rotary Club Manila Premier, a Peacebuilder President of the Rotary Club of Manila 101 and one of the few members of the elite Arch Klumph Society (AKS), our guest of honor, the Honorable Senator Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao of the Republic of the Philippines.