World champion boxer Manny Pacquiao was sworn in as congressman of his impoverished Philippine province on Monday, vowing to be even more effective in government than he is in the ring.
Trading his gloves for a traditional formal shirt, Pacquiao was among local officials who took their oaths of office in the capital of Sarangani province where he knocked out an entrenched political clan in the May 10 elections.
“I will be more effective in politics than in boxing,” he told the crowd of 3,000 after the ceremonies.
The 31-year-old fighter said he would work on improving infrastructure, medical services and security during his three-year term in parliament.
Pacquiao, who is regarded as a national hero in the boxing crazy Philippines, has said he can continue to fight even while serving as a legislator.
Boxing promoters are working to arrange a bout between Pacquiao and American Floyd Mayweather in November, to settle once and for all the fighters’ claim to be the best fighter, pound-for-pound, of their generation.
Negotiations for a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight fell through earlier this year when the American insisted on Olympic-style random drug testing, which the Filipino rejected as too intrusive before a bout.
His winnings from boxing as well as his commercial endorsements last year made Pacquiao the world’s sixth-highest paid athlete, with earnings of 40 million US dollars, according to Forbes magazine.
