MANILA: Philippines presidential hopeful Manny Pacquiao says he was “naive” and ignorant of the law when he took crystal meth in his youth, but argues offenders today know drugs are illegal and should be punished.
Pacquiao, a retired world champion boxer, has been a high-profile backer of President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal war on drugs that has killed thousands of people.
But in the lead up to the 2022 elections, Pacquiao has sought to distance himself from the outgoing Duterte, who is facing an international probe into his bloody crackdown, and now says offenders should have a “chance to defend themselves”.
“We have to put in jail those who are using drugs, selling drugs – that’s what the law says,” he told AFP, vowing to continue the anti-narcotics campaign “in the right way”.
“Before, I’m naive, that’s why I use drugs… I don’t know the law,” said Pacquiao, 42, who currently holds a seat in the Senate and previously served two terms in Congress.
Nowadays, “people, they know already that the law is not allowing the illegal drugs.”
Pacquiao shocked the sporting world in 2016 when he admitted using marijuana and shabu, the local name for cheap and highly addictive crystal meth, as a teenager.
Known for his rags-to-riches rise from street kid to one of the greatest pound-for-pound boxers of all time, Pacquiao has made fighting drugs, corruption and poverty key themes of his campaign to succeed Duterte.
“MAN OF DESTINY”
While victory for Pacquiao is not unrealistic in a country famed for its celebrity-obsessed politics, he faces a tough fight.
A leaked survey conducted in October by respected polling outfit Social Weather Stations reportedly showed Pacquiao in fourth place with just 9 per cent of voter support.
Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the son and namesake of the nation’s former dictator, was the top preference for president with 47 percent.
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