Politics will be Pacman’s next match after De La Hoya

MANILA, Philippines – Despite his electoral knockout in 2007, Filipino boxing champ Manny Pacquiao is not ruling out a return to the political ring. Pacquiao told “Reader's Digest" he lost the congressional race to Darlene Custodio only because it was not the right time for him. “Absolutely. I want to be a congressman. (The Filipino people) idolize me in boxing. I want them to idolize me in terms of public service. (I believe in) social accountability," he told magazine editor-in-chief Jim Plouffe in an interview. “I can change the system. I’m not like some politicians who can be corrupt. I have money and I am satisfied with what I have earned from a bloody work like boxing. What I want to do is bring government money back to the poor people," he added. Pacquiao is busy training for his upcoming fight against Oscar De La Hoya, dubbed “The Dream Match", on December 6 (December 7 in Manila). He said he lost to Custodio in 2007 because it was “not the right time" and that he was still “in (his) prime in boxing." But now, he said the time has come. Pacquiao noted he had been taking up business management. He also said he does not want his children to take up boxing, which he said is a bloody sport. “It was not the right time to run for office because I was in my prime in boxing. (The Filipino people) are looking at me as a role model in boxing. The time has come now. I think they will want me because I have a big heart," he said of his defeat in 2007. When asked what the country needs the most at this time, he said, “Politicians with big hearts to help the people who are suffering." – GMANews.TV