MANILA, Philippines – Filipino boxing icon and Sarangani Representative Manny Pacquiao cast his vote in the province of Sarangani on election day Monday, May 9, reports said. (LIVE COVERAGE: 2016 Philippine elections)
The 8-division world champion is seeking a seat in the Senate under the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) party, whose standard-bearer is Vice President Jejomar Binay. (READ: Guide to the 2016 Philippine elections)
According to a Twitter video by TV5 reporter Lyn Olavario, Pacquiao arrived at the Kiamba Central School at around 11:40 AM. (READ: Sports personalities running in the 2016 elections)
Pacquiao formally begain campaigning together with UNA after his retirement bout against Timothy Bradley Jr early in April.
Pacquiao ranked at 4th to 6th places according to an ABS-CBN senatorial poll at the end of April, obtaining a preference rating of 38.1%. He suffered a huge drop in the surveys in February following local and international backlash due to his controversial gay remark.
The 37-year-old Pacquiao is also backed by survey front-runner Rodrigo Duterte. Both Pacquiao and Duterte hail from Mindanao. – Rappler.com