Pacquiao concedes defeat in run for Congress

MANILA, AP - Philippine boxer Manny Pacquiao conceded defeat Sunday in his candidacy for a seat in Congress, failing to transform his phenomenal boxing stardom into political power, officials said.

He was defeated by his main rival Darlene Custodio, who has said Filipinos weren't prepared to lose an icon like Pacquiao, the WBC International super featherweight champion, to the country's chaotic politics.

"I accept the result of the canvassing," Pacquiao told ABS-CBN television.

He urged Custodio and other winning candidates in his southern home province of South Cotabato to "make good their promise to help the poor."

"If that happens, I would be happy, it would be like a victory for me," he said.

Following his elections defeat, Pacquiao plans to travel to the United States for a vacation with his family and prepare for a boxing match in September, ABS-CBN said.

The defeat of Pacquiao, a political neophyte, is among many electoral setbacks suffered by prominent celebrities, including movie stars, in last week's congressional and local elections.

Many exasperated Filipinos seemed to have rooted for candidates they think could deliver them from poverty and other social woes and failed to be blinded by the glitter of the fame of celebrities, analysts said.

A former baker and construction worker, Pacquiao became a national hero and an inspiration to many after becoming world boxing champion in a rags-to-riches story. Nearly half of the Philippines' 88 million people live on US$2 (?1.4) a day.

He became a source of national pride at a time of political turmoil and economic difficulties and was given a rousing welcome led by his chief backer, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, each time he returned home with a boxing victory.

In his latest triumph, the 28-year-old Pacquiao stopped Mexico's Jorge Solis with a powerful right hand in the eighth round last month in San Antonio, Texas. Thousands of well-wishers lined the streets of downtown Manila to welcome him.

Custodio, an opposition lawmaker who won her third and last term as lawmaker, has said that Pacquiao was not prepared for politics although he was an outstanding athlete.

"He probably wasn't really prepared for politics, but more than anything, I think, people weren't prepared to lose him as their boxing icon either," she said.