Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao has returned to politics in the Philippines after being appointed head of a government anti-poverty commission.
The 47-year-old, boxing's only eight-division world champion, joined President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's cabinet on Tuesday, vowing to help Filipinos cope with hardships all too familiar to him.
Pacquiao was appointed lead convener of the National Anti-Poverty Commission, his first cabinet post after a political career that included service in Congress and the Senate. He also staged an unsuccessful 2022 presidential run and a failed bid to return to the Senate in 2025.
As NAPC chief, Pacquiao will co-ordinate government efforts to reduce poverty.
“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,” Pacquiao said.
Pacquiao fought on the streets as a boy, earning $2 a fight, and overcame homelessness and destitution. His net worth is estimated at $220 million after a glittering 73-fight boxing career.
He takes over the anti-poverty agency as the Marcos administration seeks to cut poverty incidence to 8-9 per cent by 2028. Government data showed the rate fell to 9.7 per cent in 2025, the equivalent of about 11.1 million Filipinos living below the poverty line.
Pacquiao remains among the Philippines' most revered sporting figures, with his biggest fights often bringing the nation of 119 million people to a standstill.
The southpaw retired in 2021 but returned to the ring in July 2025 to face Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight title in Las Vegas. That bout ended in a draw, and he was also inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame last year.
He was set to face Floyd Mayweather in a rematch on Netflix later this year, but the fight fell apart due to issues on Mayweather's side.
Pacquiao is understood to be eyeing January for a return to the ring and has been linked with a bout against Shakur Stevenson, the American WBO light-welterweight champion.
