Pacquiao will have to
wait 12 years to run for president, says House colleague
Press Release
November
11, 2010
QUEZON CITY – Manny Pacquiao is too young and will have to wait 12 years before he can
qualify to run for president, Dasmariñas City Rep. Elpidio Barzaga
Jr., chairman of the House committee on suffrage and electoral
reforms, said Thursday.
At only 31 years of
age, Barzaga said Pacquiao is barred by the Constitution from running
for president in 2016, when he will only be 37 on election day of that
year.
In an interview on
CBS's "60 Minutes," the number-one TV news program in America,
Pacquiao did not rule out the possibility of a run for the Philippine
presidency in the future.
Correspondent Bob
Simon interviewed Pacquiao ahead of his fight against Antonio Margarito for the vacant World Super Welterweight Championship at the
Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Under the 1987
Constitution, Barzaga pointed out that no person may be elected
president unless he or she is at least 40 years of age on election
day.
He said Pacquiao could
not run for vice-president either, since the post has the same minimum
age requirement as that of president.
Emmanuel "Manny"
Dapidran Pacquiao was born on December 17, 1978 in Kibawe, Bukidnon.
He will not turn 40 until December 17, 2018, or two years after the
next presidential elections.
"The earliest Manny
could meet the minimum age requirement to run for president would be
in the 2022 elections, or 12 years hence," Barzaga said.
"Manny cannot even run
for senator in the 2013 mid-term polls, because on election day that
year he will only be 34, and turn 35 only seven months later," he
said.
Under the
Constitution, Barzaga said the minimum age requirement for a person to
qualify to run for senator is at least 35 years on election day.
He said Pacquiao
could, however, easily finish two consecutive terms as a member of
Congress representing the lone district of Sarangani, and then at 37
years old qualify to run for senator in the 2016 elections.
"After serving a full
six-year term as a senator, Manny can then run either for president or
vice-president in 2022," Barzaga said.
Pacquiao is now only
on his first three-year term as a member of Congress.
"Should he decide to
seek higher office later on, Manny's distinct advantage is he is
young. Time is on his side. He's bound to outlive many of the
country's present-day political figures, who are mostly in their 40s,
50s or 60s," Barzaga said.
