Philippines’ Pacquiao takes on poverty from Marcos Cabinet

Manny Pacquiao spent decades fighting in the ring. From Sept. 8, the Filipino boxing icon will take on a more enduring opponent: poverty.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed Pacquiao as lead convener of the National Anti-Poverty Commission, giving the former senator his first Cabinet post after a long political career. That career included service in Congress and the Senate, an unsuccessful presidential bid in 2022, and a failed attempt to return to the Senate in 2025 on a Marcos-backed ticket.

Pacquiao says the work is personal. “I came from poverty. I experienced sleeping on cardboard on the streets, drinking only water, having nothing to eat, and saving loose coins just to help my family,” he said in a statement.

The former champion once worked as a ship stowaway and fought on the streets as a boy, earning US$2 per fight. He later became the only boxer to win world titles in eight weight divisions and one of the Philippines’ most revered sporting figures. His biggest fights attracted everyone from presidents and Hollywood stars to ordinary Filipinos, often bringing the country to a standstill.

The Marcos administration aims to cut poverty incidence to 8-9% by 2028. Government data showed the rate fell to 9.7% in 2025, equivalent to about 11.08 million Filipinos living below the poverty line. Pacquiao, who retired in 2021 but returned to the ring in July 2025, was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame that year.

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I came from poverty. I experienced sleeping on cardboard on the streets, drinking only water, having nothing to eat, and saving loose coins just to help my family.