Manny Pacquiao officially elected as Philippines senator

Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao has been elected to the Philippines senate after an official proclamation in Manila on Thursday.

The election commission announced the 12 new senators in the 24-member upper house of Congress after completing the vote tallies from 81 provinces and overseas ballots.

The eight division world boxing champion garnered a total of 16 million votes, placing him in the 7th place out of the 12 available seats.

Thank you everyone for your support. May God Bless you all and may God Bless the Philippines. 🇵🇭 pic.twitter.com/huxUMoqhws

— Manny Pacquiao (@mannypacquiao) May 19, 2016

“There is only one thing that I want to guarantee, the trust and support you have given me will not go to waste and will not be bought at any price. This comes from my heart. I will make sure to safeguard and serve the people, diligently do my work, make sure there is no corruption and be in service with the Fear of God,” Pacquiao told journalists after the proclamation ceremony.

Pacquiao, who has enjoyed widespread popularity and being called the “Nation’s Fist”, has been a legislator in the Lower House since 2010.

In February, Pacquiao was at the centre of a controversy about his comments on same-sex marriage.

The boxing icon later apologised on Twitter after a backlash. He subsequently lost a Nike sponsorship over the row.

Reuters