SARANGANI, Philippines  – Emmanuel “Manny” Dapidran Pacquiao yesterday filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) for congressman of the lone district of Sarangani, a province 12 kilometers away from his hometown of General Santos City.

Accompanied by his wife Jinkee and his gubernatorial running mate Juan Domino, Pacquiao filed his COC at 5:30 p.m. under the banner of the Peoples’ Champ Movement (PCM).

Pacquiao told The STAR that he might retire from boxing and serve the constituents of Sarangani province, his wife’s hometown.

His mother, Dionisia Pacquiao, said she had a heart-to-heart talk with her son before he filed his COC.

“We talked and I told him that he should stop boxing and that his fight with (Miguel) Cotto should be the last. He acceded and told me that he will follow what I want,” Mommy Dionisia said, adding she will support her son’s political bid and devote her time to assisting Manny morally.

The return of the Marcoses

Meanwhile, former first lady Imelda Marcos, widow of the late President Ferdinand Marcos, wants to return to the House of Representatives, this time no longer as representative of her hometown Leyte, but that of her husband in Ilocos Norte.

Mrs. Marcos filed her COC in the district that will be left vacant by her son, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who has joined the senatorial slate of the Nacionalista Party.

Her eldest child Imee, in the meantime, also filed her COC for the gubernatorial post that was once held by Bongbong.

The incumbent governor is Michael Keon, a nephew. Keon’s mother Elizabeth is a sister of the late president. 

Imee was a three-term congresswoman who, in a twist of fate, was affiliated with the House opposition bloc, composed mostly of militant lawmakers led by former NDF spokesman Satur Ocampo, who was imprisoned during Marcos’ martial law.

Ferdinand Jr. tried but failed to get a Senate seat in the May 1995 midterm polls. – Delon Porcalla