A brewing feud between Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and boxing legend Sen. Manny Pacquiao could foreshadow a showdown in next year’s presidential campaign in the Philippines — and with it, American hopes that the next president of the Philippines will be eager to help curtail China’s aggression.
Pacquiao, who launched a political career off the back of his renown as an international boxing titan, is pressuring Duterte to resist China’s attempt to seize control of the South China Sea, signaling a willingness to confront Beijing in advance of a likely presidential campaign. Pacquiao’s assertive posture contrasts with Duterte’s more docile approach to the controversy with Beijing.
“We should stand strong in protecting our sovereign rights while pursuing a peaceful and diplomatic solution to the dispute,” Pacquiao said Wednesday.
Chinese officials have built artificial islands and deployed maritime militia fleets to disputed waters without regard for the claims of neighboring countries. Meanwhile, Duterte has undermined cooperation between Manila and Washington, at the expense of U.S. efforts to develop a strategy to deter China’s growing military.
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The boxer’s rebuke struck a nerve with Duterte, who is scheduled to leave office next year due to a constitutional term limit.
“Currently, this guy has a very shallow knowledge,” the president said of Pacquiao on Tuesday.
That insult points to a falling out between the two politicians, while Duterte’s inner circle talks more openly about a plan for him to circumvent the looming term limit on his presidency.
Duterte’s team has floated a plan to have him run as vice president in 2022 so that, as the vice presidential nominee, he can select the candidate whose name would appear at the top of the ticket.
“We believe that as vice president, he can also be able to continue those reforms and continue on what he has started in his capacity as vice president,” Duterte adviser Karlo Nograles said last week.
Duterte’s daughter, Sara, is regarded as the likeliest figurehead president. The daughter-father ticket would be familiar ground for the pair, as Duterte held the title of vice mayor under his daughter from 2010 to 2012 after previously holding the mayoral office from 2001 to 2010. She stepped down in 2012, choosing to “give way to Vice Mayor Rody Duterte” rather than run for reelection.
“The wisdom and the experience that he gained from his entire political career culminating in his presidency [would allow him to] offer so many solutions, guidance, and wisdom [to the president],” Nograles added.
The outcome of the 2022 elections in the Philippines could have long-term ramifications for the U.S. and the security of allies in the Indo-Pacific. Duterte has attempted to curry favor with Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping at the expense of the U.S.-Philippine alliance. He has even threatened to scuttle a key military agreement with the U.S., much to the chagrin of American strategists who regard the Philippines as a crucial link in the Pentagon’s effort to deter or win a conflict with China.
Duterte’s team has sent multiple public messages to discourage Pacquiao from running for president.
“Sen. Manny . . . this is not your time,” presidential chief counsel Salvador Panelo said last month. “It is the time of Mayor Sara, Sen. Bong Go, and President Duterte. It is not yet the time of others. You have to wait for your turn.”
However, Pacquiao isn’t waiting to get involved in diplomatic disputes with China. He wrote a letter to China’s ambassador to tell Chinese officials to withdraw their vessels from the waters of the Philippines’s exclusive economic zone, a revelation that he made while criticizing Duterte for going soft on China after taking office.
“I found the president’s response lacking compared as to when he was still running for the national elections,” the boxer-turned-senator said in May. “He should continue with our strong stance so China would respect us.”
Duterte gave a sharp response Tuesday.
“Well, if it’s about foreign policy, I would not want to degrade him, but next time he should . . . study hard,” the president said.
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Pacquiao didn’t back down.
“I firmly believe that my statement reflects the sentiment of the majority of the Filipinos, that we should stand strong in protecting our sovereign rights while pursuing a peaceful and diplomatic solution to the dispute,” he replied Wednesday. “I am a Filipino voicing out what needs to be said in defense of what has been adjudicated as rightfully ours.”
