MANNY PACQUIAO
Manny Pacquiao, whose full name is Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr., is a Filipino professional boxer and former politician. Nicknamed “PacMan,” he is widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time and remains the only fighter in history to become an eight-division world champion. Beyond boxing, he served as a senator of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022, further cementing his prominence in both sports and public service. [Source: Wikipedia]
Pacquiao (pronounced pa-KEE-ow) captured a total of twelve major world titles and achieved lineal championships in four weight classes: flyweight, featherweight, super featherweight, and light welterweight. He was the first boxer to win major world titles in four of boxing’s eight “glamour divisions” and is the only fighter to hold world championships across four different decades—from the 1990s through the 2020s.
In a tribute in Time magazine’s 100 heroes and Icons, heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis wrote: “Pound for pound, Manny Pacquiao is the best boxer in the world. But even more important than holding that distinction, Manny has connected with the people of his home country, the Philippines, to the point where he's almost like a god. The people have rallied behind him and feel like they're a part of him, because they can see his talent, his dedication, his grace and his class. The grip he holds over the Philippines is similar to Nelson Mandela's influence in South Africa.[Source: Lennox Lewis, Time April 30, 2009]
Pacquiao initially lost when he ran for Congress in the Philippines “in part because voters thought he could do more for the country as an inspirational champion boxer. I agree with the Filipino people. Manny has a true global reach... Manny is from the Muhammad Ali school. He's a boxer, a puncher and a mover — a champion in several weight divisions. He doesn't stand there and take shots. He throws that wicked jab and is so quick to dodge trouble. Boxing needs a guy like Manny. Too often, when something positive develops, the sport takes two steps backward; you never know where the black eye is going to come from. With Manny, you don't have to worry about that. He just loves the sport and knows he's carrying the hopes of his country in the ring.
Manny Pacquiao’s Early Life
Manny Pacquiao was born Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao on December 17, 1978, in Kibawe in Bukidnon province about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Davao city on the southern Philippines island of Mindanao. He is the son of Rosalio Pacquiao and Dionisia Dapidran. His father Rosalio harvested coconuts and his mother sold peanuts. His parents separated when he was in sixth grade following the discovery of his father’s affair with another woman. Pacquiao is the fourth of six siblings; one of them, Alberto "Bobby" Pacquiao, also became a professional boxer and later entered politics. He was also a lightweight boxer, who won the Philippine super featherweight title four times from 2002 to 2004. [Source: Wikipedia]
Manny was raised in General Santos, also located on Mindanao. His room-size Pacquiao’s house had a dirt floor and housed seven people. The walls were thatched. His family slept on cardboard boxes. Pacquiao dropped out of school to sell doughnuts, ice water, and fish that he caught in the sea. [Source: Gendy Alimurung, LA Weekly, March 11 2010]
It is said that Pacquiao ran away from home because his father killed, cooked and ate his pet dog, and lived on the streets in a cardboard box taking up boxing to help support his mother. In 2011 Pacquiao said: As a child, I had to fight just to eat. And now when I fight, Filipinos call me a hero. I believe the biggest fight of my life is not in boxing. The biggest fight in my life is how to end poverty in my country...God looks after me. I’ve thought about the poverty of my people from a young age. I’ve been there. I know what it’s like.” [Source: Gareth A Davies, The Telegraph, May 5, 2011]
One day in 1990, while watching television, he saw the seemingly invincible Mike Tyson lose to James "Buster" Douglas and fell in love with boxing. He learned that the underdog can win. He punched a rubber flip-flop tied around the trunk of a palm tree. He imagined himself as a champion. He was 11 years old.
At the age of 14, he moved to Manila without his parents and experienced extreme hardship. He lived on the streets, worked as a construction laborer, and often had to choose between buying food for himself or sending money to support his mother. Pacquiao once said of his early years, "Many of you know me as a legendary boxer, and I'm proud of that. However, that journey was not always easy. When I was younger, I became a fighter because I had to survive. I had nothing. I had no one to depend on except myself. I realized that boxing was something I was good at, and I trained hard so that I could keep myself and my family alive."
Despite the various challenges he faced, Pacquiao completed his elementary education at Saavedra Saway Elementary School in General Santos but was forced to drop out of high school. In February 2007, Pacquiao returned to his studies by taking and passing a high school equivalency examination. He was subsequently awarded a high school diploma by the Department of Education.
Manny Pacquiao’s Family and Personal Life
Pacquiao married Maria Geraldine “Jinkee” Pacquiao (née Jamora) on May 10, 1999, and they have five children: Emmanuel Jr. (Jimuel), Michael Stephen, Mary Divine Grace (Princess), Queen Elizabeth (Queenie), and Israel. Their eldest son, Jimuel Pacquiao, followed in his father’s footsteps and became a professional boxer, debuting in 2025. Their second son, Michael Pacquiao, built a career in music as a rapper, while their daughter Mary Pacquiao (Princess) gained popularity as a YouTube vlogger. Queenie was born in the United States, and the family maintains a strong online presence through multiple YouTube channels. [Source: Wikipedia]
In 2006, a woman named Joanna Rose Bacosa revealed that Pacquiao had another son, Emmanuel “Eman” Bacosa, born in 2004. Although initially unacknowledged, the two later reconciled privately. Eman Pacquiao went on to pursue boxing and made his professional debut in 2023, later officially adopting the Pacquiao surname in 2025.
Pacquiao primarily resides in General Santos, though he previously lived in Kiamba during his time as a congressman. His 1,115-square-meter (12,000-square-foot) estate in General Santos was built in 2006 not far from the mean streets where Manny grew up. The sprawling compound has a swimming pool shaped like a boxing glove, stone walls and 24-hour armed guards. Poor people sometimes line up at the gates and are handed plastic bags with rice and sardines and 200 pesos, or $4. Pacquiao is said to have received kidnapping threats, and allegedly has a team of 30 bodyguards to watch over his family. He travels inside a bulletproof van.
At the peak of his career Pacquiao was surrounded by a lot of people a lot of the tim. According to the New York Times: Pacquiao craves companionship, seeking comfort in numbers. He said he likes good company, which explains why he sleeps in the condo while the sprawling house he owns nearby sits mostly empty, leaves in the pool, ants in the kitchen. Confidants believe this stems from his childhood, when he grew up so poor in the Philippines that his younger brother, Bobby, described each day as “survival mode.” The path to reclaimed youth includes all of the activities Pacquiao missed, like darts, billiards, basketball and marathon karaoke sessions. [Source: Greg Bishop, New York Times, November 12, 2009]
Pacquiao has also pursued education later in life, completing courses at the Development Academy of the Philippines and briefly studying business administration at Notre Dame of Dadiangas University. In 2019, he earned a political science degree from University of Makati through an equivalency program, and in 2022, he completed a master’s degree in public administration at Philippine Christian University.
Pacquiao Character and Personality
Gendy Alimurung wrote in LA Weekly: Pacquiao likes to sing ballads. He sang “an earnest, karaoke-bad” rendition of "Sometimes When We Touch" on The Jimmy Kimmel Show, where he came of as endearing — a big, goofy kid ... who could crush your skull with his bare hands. You want to hug him. Which Kimmel actually does, stepping out from behind the desk. Pacquiao is a religious man, but to him, God and the violence are not contradictory. Those closest to him say he believes he was touched by the Almighty to help the people of the Philippines. On a secular level, he has been known to quote from the movie Spider-Man: With great power comes great responsibility. When he prays, he asks the lord to protect him, to protect his opponent. After each fight, as each competitor lies gasping on the mat, the first words out of Pacquiao's mouth are, "Thank you, God." He beats them hard, but his opponents feel honored. "You are still my idol," Pacquiao says, minutes after he destroys De La Hoya. [Source: Gendy Alimurung, LA Weekly, March 11 2010]
Reporting from Pacquiao’s Pacquiao's suite on the seventh floor of the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco in 2008, Pablo S. Torre wrote in Sports Illustrated, “Fire ordinances are on the verge of being violated. In town as part of a press tour, Pacquiao steps over one of his Filipino drivers, who has been sleeping on the floor next to the TV; meanwhile, another man is passed out near the doorway, one arm slung over his face. Who are these folks? "It's a lot of people without titles," Roach says. "I once went around the room and kept asking, 'What does he do?' Nobody could tell me." In GenSan about 30 guys hang out at Pacquiao's mansion every day, playing darts and eating. One friend calls it "social welfare." [Source: Pablo S. Torre, Sports Illustrated, December 8, 2008]
Out of a democratic instinct, Pacquiao has been known to take a turn sleeping on the floor. Joaquin Hagedorn Jr., the boyfriend of Pacquiao's sister-in-law, recalls walking into the champ's hotel room in Las Vegas this summer and finding him lying on a blanket. Pacquiao, Hagedorn says, "just didn't think to call for a roll-away." In fact, the more time you spend with Pacquiao, the more he emerges as a sort of bizarro Mayweather: a polite, quietly unassuming man who not only doesn't talk trash but also picks it up. One night, amid revelry in his suite at the Ritz, he started to gather empty beer cans. Later, flying on a Falcon 900 jet, he used the bathroom faucet to fill an empty water bottle.
When things get out of hand, the job of clearing out gyms and hotel rooms usually falls to Rob Peters, Pacquiao's security chief. "It's getting a little better now," Peters says. Hired by a concerned Roach in 2005 after Pacquiao lost to Morales in their first fight, Peters has taped laminated signs to every conceivable flat surface: 9:00 p.m. CURFEW STRICTLY ENFORCED. But the warning is as much for Pacquiao — whose missteps and rumored dalliances (since denied) are tabloid gold in the Philippines — as it is for those snoozing behind armoires. "Manny would stay out all night, and he had all these bad habits," says Arum. "It wasn't until Jinkee sat him down this year and threatened to leave him that he pledged to change." The promise was ultimately signed in ink: Pacquiao had the names of their children tattooed on his all-important left arm. (A girl is due in January.)
Pacquiao’s Religious Beliefs
Raised as a Catholic, Pacquiao later became a devout Evangelical Protestant and preacher, saying a spiritual experience inspired his conversion. Before becoming an Evangelical Protestant, Pacquiao was a devout Catholic, praying before his meals, making the sign of the cross before each fight and calling for a moment of silent prayer after each training session in the gym. His mother, Dionisia, passed down her strict religious beliefs, and even hoped that he would grow up to become a priest.[Source: Ben Sztajnkrycer]
Pacquiao said he became deeply religious following what he described as a divine experience in his Manila bedroom in 1995, when was fighting for $1 or $2 a fight. He said “If I tell you the story of my life, you might say I’m crazy, or you might say I’m insane, or you might say (it’s) ‘because of the punches he took in boxing... In my life, I experienced (hearing) the voice of God. It’s up to you whether you believe me or not, I’m just telling you. And when I heard the voice of God, I’m melting, like I died, that’s what I’m feeling. Since then, never in my life did I forget that moment.” He added that he continues to pray with humility, entrusting his future to a higher power: “I pray always that ‘my future in not in my hands, it’s in your hands, your thought is higher than my thought, and your plan is higher than my plan, let your will be done’. And that’s what happened.”
Pacquiao’s Celebrity
Pacquiao virtually a god in the Philippines, where appears everywhere in Filipino pop culture — music, television and movies. Pacquiao placed 22nd on the 2009 Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. The only Filipino to make the list that year, he ranked ahead of Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey and the Dalai Lama. Pacquiao's movie Wapakman came out in Manila in 2010. In it, he plays an ordinary man who becomes a superhero and battles a giant crab and a woman with ultrasonic breasts. [Source: Dave Golokhov, askmen.com]
Pacquiao’s popularity is so immense that it has a noticeable effect on daily life in the country. Authorities in Manila have reported that crime rates drop significantly during his fights, as people across the nation pause to watch. Even long-standing conflicts, including clashes involving insurgent groups, are said to temporarily subside. In essence, much of the country—tens of millions of people—comes to a standstill whenever Pacquiao steps into the ring.
Pacquiao was the Philippines' national flag-bearer during the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics even though he didn’t compete and was the first Filipino athlete to be featured on a postage stamp. Pacquiao starred in a commercial for San Miguel Beer in which Jet Li and some Filipino celebrities made appearances. In 2005, wrestling stars The Undertaker and Christian Cage were a part of Manny Pacquiao's entourage during the bout between Manny Pacquiao and Héctor Velázquez.
The movie “Pacquiao” was released in June 2006. Actor Jericho Rosales plays Pacquiao. In his first attempt at professional music recording, Manny Pacquiao produced the single "Para Sa 'Yo Ang Laban Na 'To (This Fight is for You)" which is a smash hit in the Philippines. The song was released before the Pacquiao-Morales II fight.
Manny Pacquiao’s Life in Early 2010s
Manny Pacquiao lives a life of striking contrasts. In the Philippines, he is treated like a demigod, especially in Manila, where public appearances can turn into chaos. In Los Angeles, however, he has been able to enjoy a more normal life—shopping, dining out, and playing basketball—though even there, fame increasingly surrounds him. He has socialized with celebrities like Tobey Maguire and Mark Wahlberg, and even spent time with the Boston Celtics after a fight. [Source: Gendy Alimurung, LA Weekly, March 11 2010]
Despite owning a multimillion-dollar mansion in Hancock Park, Pacquiao often chooses to stay in a modest, crowded apartment on La Brea Boulevard with his entourage. There, they live simply—singing karaoke, cooking rice and traditional dishes like tinolang manok—while his luxury home remains largely unused. The choice reflects his comfort with familiar routines and close-knit company rather than extravagance.
His nightly routine also reflects this sense of discipline and repetition. At a favorite Thai restaurant, he eats quietly with his group, following the same habits—same seat, same prayer, same meals. Trainer Freddie Roach has noted that boxing thrives on repetition, and Pacquiao embodies that mindset completely. His structured lifestyle may also stem from his difficult upbringing, giving him a sense of stability he once lacked.
Pacquiao at that time was known for being a night owl who loved to play billiards with his entourage into the wee hours of the morning. He liked being busy and liked people. For his last fight against Antonio Margarito in 2010, he chartered a 747 and flew more than 200 friends and relatives from the Philippines to Dallas. He also performed with his musical group a couple of days before the fight. Two days later he mercilessly beat the stuffing out of Margarito — a man two weight classes heavier than Pacquiao. [Source: Tim Smith, New York Daily News, April 30, 2011]
Manny Pacquiao's Political Career
Pacquiao entered politics in 2010 when he was elected as the representative of Sarangani, serving for six years before becoming a senator in 2016. In 2020, he became the leader of the PDP–Laban, though this leadership later became disputed. On September 19, 2021, he announced his candidacy in the 2022 Philippine presidential election but was defeated by Bongbong Marcos. After an unsuccessful bid in the 2025 Senate election, he announced plans to retire from politics and subsequently returned to boxing. [Source: Wikipedia]
In 2007, Manny Pacquiao first entered politics by running for a seat in the Philippine House of Representatives, initially under the Liberal Party but later under Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino. He lost the election to incumbent Darlene Antonino-Custodio. To prepare for public service, he also completed a governance course at the Development Academy of the Philippines. Pacquiao ran again in 2010, this time representing Sarangani, and won by a landslide, later securing re-election in 2013. However, his tenure in Congress drew criticism due to low attendance and limited legislative output, despite some advocacy work such as speaking out against human trafficking.
In 2016, Pacquiao was elected senator under the United Nationalist Alliance, finishing seventh with over 16 million votes. During his Senate career, he aligned with the administration of Rodrigo Duterte, took part in key political controversies, and supported policies such as the return of capital punishment. Despite again facing criticism for poor attendance, he was able to pass several laws and filed dozens of bills. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Pacquiao helped secure 50,000 test kits in partnership with Jack Ma. He also became acting president of PDP–Laban in 2020, though his leadership was later disputed within the party. In his later Senate years, he continued to push legislative proposals, including the creation of a boxing commission, and eventually called for the release of detained senator Leila de Lima, reversing his earlier stance against her.
Pacquiao Said He Used Drugs as a Teen but Supports Execution for Drug Crimes
In 2016, while serving as a senator, Manny Pacquiao admitted that he had experimented with drugs in his youth. I tried drugs...many kinds of drugs, all kinds of drugs,” he said. [Source: Karen Lema and Clare Baldwin, Reuters, September 29, 2016]
At the same time Pacquiao expressed strong support for the anti-drug campaign of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, which had resulted in thousands of deaths. Reflecting on his past, Pacquiao said, “The president, he doesn't know my experience with drugs,” adding that he did not believe this would affect their close relationship. He emphasized his belief in redemption, noting, “He always gives a chance to people who want to be changed.”
In 2019, Pacquiao advocated for the return of capital punishment for drug-related crimes, arguing that it would serve as a deterrent. He supported execution by firing squad for drug traffickers, explaining, “If it's drugs, maybe execution by firing squad so it won’t be imitated.” He also recognized that such proposals would require legislative debate, saying, “It's possible. There will be debates on the floor about that. It can be included. I am in favor.” Earlier, Pacquiao had suggested hanging as a method of execution, remarking that it would be “cheaper,” though his later statements showed openness to other methods such as firing squad. [Source: Aika Rey, Rappler, July 23, 2019]
Pacquiao and Duterte
Duterte was the President of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. Pacquiao said he and Duterte were friends and he admired him. The relationship between the two Duterte stretches back to around the year 2000 in Davao, where Duterte helped organize and support one of his early fights. “He helped me a lot. He helped me with the promotion when I started in boxing. One of my fights held in Davao, he sponsored it,” Pacquiao said. “He helped with the promotion, financially as well.” [Source: Karen Lema and Clare Baldwin, Reuters, September 29, 2016]
Their bond deepened over the years through regular meetings and personal ties. Pacquiao said they often shared meals, and their relationship became familial—he is even a godfather to one of Duterte’s grandchildren. He added that Duterte still reaches out to him after fights, calling to offer congratulations. Referring to the president by his nickname, he said, “He’s a very nice person, a nice guy,” and insisted that Duterte is “a respectful person, a hospitable person, a friendly person,” contrary to his tough public image.
Pacquiao also expressed strong personal loyalty and belief in Duterte’s leadership, describing him in deeply spiritual terms. “God put him there for a reason, for purpose — to discipline the people,” he said, adding that Filipinos must respect both Duterte’s authority and “the anointed one.” For Pacquiao, criticism of the president—particularly over killings linked to the drug war—was misplaced, as he argued that violence stemmed from criminals themselves rather than Duterte’s actions.
Although Pacquiao initially supported a different candidate during the presidential campaign, he later aligned himself closely with Duterte, becoming one of his strongest allies in government. This loyalty was reflected in his actions as a senator, including backing key policies such as reinstating the death penalty and defending the administration in political disputes. He also played a role in removing a prominent Duterte critic from a Senate committee, while maintaining, “It’s not my intention to remove her from the chairmanship of the committee to stop the investigation. The investigation will continue. We just want to implement it in the right way.”
Throughout, Pacquiao has framed Duterte’s leadership as a necessary force for restoring discipline and respect for the law. “In the past administrations, people didn’t respect the law, the leader, the authorities,” he said. “What Duterte is trying to do is let the people know — and put it in their hearts and minds — that you need to respect the law of the land.”
Pacquiao Run the Philippines Presidency in 2022
Manny Pacquiao, when was serving as senator, ran for Presidency the Philippines, campaigning on an anti-corruption and anti-poverty platform. Running under a faction of the PDP-Laban party, he positioned himself as a reform candidate, pledging to improve government transparency, fight poverty, and jail corrupt officials. Once an ally of Rodrigo Duterte, Pacquiao became a critic of the administration, alleging misuse of public funds, including pandemic aid. Despite his popularity and personal story, Pacquiao faced challenges throughout the campaign. Critics questioned his political experience, and he consistently lagged behind leading candidates in opinion polls. His transition from sports hero to national leader proved difficult in a highly competitive race that featured established political figures.
"Can he really govern? He said he would surround himself with knowledgeable people, but at the end of the day, it is still the president who decides," said political analyst Earl Parreño. "He is not yet ready and there are many more deserving who have been there longer ... and have more experience," said tricycle taxi driver Edwin Loza, 65. His commitment to public service has also been questioned, with a poor attendance in congress and lengthy disappearances as senator while training for big-money fights abroad. "We all know Pacquiao, though he is a very good man and his heart is in the right place, did not also perform well as a senator," said Victor Andres Manhit, managing director of think tank Stratbase ADRi. "He was not attentive in the Senate so people might find that lacking." [Source: Neil Jerome Morales and Adrian Portugal, Reuters, September 20, 2021]
In the end, Pacquiao placed third with over 3.6 million votes, finishing behind Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Leni Robredo, and he conceded shortly after the election. Following the loss, he remained active in public life, including a failed 2025 Senate bid, before shifting more of his focus back to boxing and other endeavors.
See Boxing Great Pacquiao Doesn’t Do So Great in His Philippine Presidential Run Under 2022 PHILIPPINE ELECTIONS factsanddetails.com
Manny Pacquiao Outside of Boxing and Politics
Outside the ring and politics, Pacquiao also ventured into sports and entertainment. He served as a player-coach in the Philippine Basketball Association for the Kia/Mahindra team from 2014 to 2017, later founding the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League. Pacquiao was also owner of the PacMan Gensan team of the Mindanao Visayas Basketball Association, which is based out of his hometown in General Santos City. They are now known as the MP Warriors of Gensan. They won a championship in 2005 and finished as runners-up in 2006.
Pacquiao has appeared in films, hosted television shows, and pursued a music career, releasing multiple platinum-certified albums. His cover of “Sometimes When We Touch” gained international attention after a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, reaching number 19 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart. In addition, he is known as an Evangelical Christian preacher, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. [Source: Wikipedia]
Pacquiao also served as a reservist in the Philippine Army, eventually attaining the rank of colonel. In 2016, Pacquiao also drew controversy over remarks opposing same-sex marriage, where he compared such relationships unfavorably to animals. The comments sparked backlash from LGBT figures and the public. He later apologized, clarifying that while his religious beliefs oppose same-sex marriage, he does not condemn gay individuals. The incident led to consequences such as the termination of his endorsement deal with Nike and a ban from The Grove at Farmers Market.
Pacquiao is a passionate basketball fan. In 2014, he entered professional basketball by becoming the playing coach of the Kia Motors team in the Philippine Basketball Association. He made history as the league’s oldest rookie after selecting himself 11th overall in the 2014 draft. He had had previously built connections with NBA stars such as Stephen Curry, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen, and even trained with the Golden State Warriors in preparation for his stint. Pacquiao saw limited playing time but managed to score his first point in February 2015 and later recorded his first field goal in October of that year. In August 2016, he achieved a career-high of four points in a single game, including his first three-point shot. His brief basketball career drew mixed reactions, including criticism from former NBA player Daniel Orton, but remained a notable chapter in his multi-sport journey.
In November 2013, Pacquiao faced a major tax dispute when the Bureau of Internal Revenue froze his bank accounts and properties over alleged unpaid taxes amounting to 2.2 billion pesos from his U.S. fight earnings (2008–2009). Pacquiao contested the claim, presenting proof that taxes had already been paid to the Internal Revenue Service through his promoter Bob Arum. The dispute continued for years, and in 2017, Pacquiao sought to settle the case with Philippine authorities.
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons
Text Sources: “Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 5: East/Southeast Asia:” edited by Paul Hockings, 1993; “Culture Shock!: Philippines” by Alfredo Roces and Grace Roces, Marshall Cavendish International, 2010; Metropolitan Museum of Art; National Geographic, Live Science, Philippines Department of Tourism, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Encyclopedia.com, Library of Congress, The Conversation, The New Yorker, Time, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Google AI, Wikipedia, The Guardian and various websites, books and other publications.
Last updated March 2026