Senator Manny Pacquiao makes the opening salvo in the 2022 Prospects Presidential Interviews, a series hosted and organized by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines.

In the interview with FOCAP, Pacquiao discusses his priorities, including an uncompromising anti-corruption crackdown, if he becomes president. The senator also weighs in on key issues such as the South China Sea territorial dispute and defense agreements with the U.S., as well as on the direction of his own campaign amid weak showing in recent opinion polls.

The panel of interviewers is led by Regine Cabato, Washington Post Manila correspondent, who also acted as the moderator. Joining her are correspondents from Japan’s Asahi Shimbun, Bloomberg, Taiwan’s Central News Agency, Reuters, South China Morning Post and Singapore’s Straits Times.

With the presidential interviews, FOCAP joins its independent media colleagues in the Philippines in helping Filipinos evaluate the best candidate worthy of their votes on May 9.