MANILA, Philippines --Three more fights and Manny Pacquiao is ready for the main event—politics. And he will be trained by no less than the political party of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Knocked out by reelectionist Rep. Darlene Antonino-Custodio in his political debut in May last year, the Pacman Monday said he would quit boxing next year in time for the 2010 elections.

He will either run as a congressman again or try for a local government seat in the Cotabato area or in Saranggani, the World Boxing Council lightweight king said.

Pacquiao’s immediate concern is to defeat another boxing legend, American Oscar De La Hoya, when they fight in Las Vegas on Dec. 6 at 147 lbs.

3 months’ preparation

“Actually, my parents want this (De la Hoya fight) to be my last fight. But I told them I can still fight around two more fights after De la Hoya. So maybe around July or August next year, that’s when I will retire,” he said in Filipino.

Dubbed the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter, Pacquiao is not exactly a spring chicken anymore. He will turn 30 on Dec. 17. De La Hoya is 35.

Pacquiao said he saw no problem in moving up to the welterweight class for the De La Hoya fight.

“It really depends on my preparations. I need three months to prepare, to get in the condition that I want to be for the fight,” he said.

Inducted into Kampi

Pacquiao professed admiration for De La Hoya.

“He was my idol when I was starting out. Now I can’t believe I am fighting him. So maybe to fight him is already a big honor. More so if I beat him.”

He declined to reveal what his strategy would be for the fight but said he had started to train and would fly to the US on Sept. 14 to continue with his training.

“A win [over De La Hoya] would bring honor to the country and my countrymen. My political career will be a help to them too,” he said.

Pacquiao was at the office of Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno to take his oath as a full-fledged member of the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi), the political party of President Arroyo. Puno is the Kampi president.

The oath-taking was witnessed by Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo, Palawan Rep. Antonio Alvarez and other party officials.

‘You can’t eat honor’

Clad in barong tagalog and black pants, Pacquiao was mobbed by office workers.

“Every time I fight, what I give is honor. But you can’t eat that. They (his provincemates) need help because their lives are so hard … I want to help them in any way,” the boxer stressed.

He said that he would never allow himself to be eaten up by the political system.

“If I were easily eaten up by systems, I would have been eaten up by now while I am champion,” he said in Filipino.

“My ego would have been bloated since I’ve gone a long way in my career. But Manny Pacquiao is still the same. You will see that Manny Pacquiao won’t be eaten up by any system.”

Politics is service

Puno said Pacquiao could contribute to bringing back normalcy in Mindanao.

“I think Manny can help if he becomes a member of Kampi so he can help our work in bringing peace to the area,” Puno said.

He said the party had yet to decide what position Pacquiao should seek in the 2010 elections.

“We know that if he runs for senator, hands down he will win. The problem is that he is only 30 years old and the minimum [age requirement for senator] is 35,” Puno said.

This would be the second time that Pacquiao would run for an elective office. In 2007, he lost to Darlene Antonino-Custodio in their congressional fight.

This time, Puno said he and the party would “train” Pacquiao in politics.

“The tactics will be easy. The root of public service is doing service and Manny has had that for a long time even when he was not a politician. He will just continue that. He can leave the tactics to us.”

Pacquiao was earlier sworn in as a member of the Liberal Party under former Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, but Puno noted that Pacquiao had also formally run under Kampi and the two parties had a concurrent membership arrangement. With report from Abigail Kwok, INQUIRER.net